[IC] X-Men: The New Era - Avalon Rising

[KatKook]

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"Can you just show yourself?"

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_{Ashford Institute}

Classes were unexciting, the information she learned was there but the day went by pretty quickly. It did not matter too much, she spent all day looking down at her phone hoping she got a text or call back but it always came empty. Maybe she just needed to coax this person out and they might show up, maybe they are avoiding her, but Jett knows that no one can avoid her completely, she is just way too stubborn to have that happen.

She brushed her hair and started thinking of a distraction as she was walking down the hall looking in at every door she passed. She walked by an empty room and stopped by her tracks, she quickly checked her surroundings to see if anyone was looking or looked to care enough about her and after realising that there was no one she quickly creaked open the door and slid in the empty classroom. Lights were off since no one was using it and she quickly cracked a smile before hopping on the teacher's desk and sitting down on it. She pulled out her phone and looked down at the cracked screen; no new notifications. Damn. She shoved her phone back in her pocket and hopped off the desk before walking to the window to look outside, nothing exciting but there were definitely people out there and maybe she could maybe get some glances in with what she is about to do.

She walked over to the door and peaked her head out, looking left and right, she would not want to be expelled as early as now, she still has not found this person that she is looking for yet, and this might be the best way to do it. After seeing that it is mostly clear, she closed the door and started. She sped from each corner of the classroom in a counter clockwise motion, she stopped to see if it threw some things over and it did but the wind was not stopping at all, it just kept going until it was visibly spinning in front of her. She was surprised at herself but she was loving it, swirls in the air were making themselves more prominent and soon the chairs and books were flying all over the place as the tornado made itself clear.

Indoor tornado sounded more fun in her head but this did not seem to bring her as much enjoyment as it thought it would- A chair just crashed through the window, Cass blinked and immediately bolted out the door, and dashed down the hall away from all that nonsense. Did she go overboard? She was sure she did. Does she regret it? Absolutely not. She was laughing to herself a little as she put her hood up and started to nonchalantly walk away to lessen her suspicion levels, she had gotten good at that but the people here are on another level and she was sure she was going to get caught in no time.

At least it brought a smile to her face even though she is going to get scolded as soon as a staff member gets a hold her. Man, she needed a friend and she needed it fast, although it is going to take a while before she would agree to talking to people normally again.

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Interactions:

[Silver Carrot]

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Heidi Williams

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Location: Danger Room - 9am

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Making her way to the Danger Room after completing a long series of pre-workout stretches, Heidi was mulling of the fact that had continue to gnaw at her mind for several days. She didn't remember what happened a few nights ago. She think a club may have been involved, and she'd considered the possibility of alcohol giving her a normal memory just for one night. But there were two things that went against this. One was that she could remember every second of her life pre-mutation when she would have had an ordinary mind. Even her infancy. The second was that the night directly after, she remembered remembering, in perfect detail the events of the night that was so hazy now. And she couldn't even recall the memories from the memories of her remembering them, which defied all other explaination.

At some time between the night at the beach and the day after, somebody was tampering with her memories. And it wasn't just her. Heidi had talked to people about it and nobody could remember the night. Nobody else thought this strange, and it could just still be coincidence, but Heidi was sure now. Somebody wanted everyone who was at that Club to forget about that night. She couldn't even remember which club anymore. And no google searches for Clubs in this city on that night yielded any results. Heidi wondered if it could be connected in some way to Professor Pierce's absence or Ashford's business trip, but that was getting into the realm of conjecture and paranoia. There was no proof to give credence to any of the many, many possibilities Heidi could imagine.

Due to her stretches, Heidi was last to the Danger Room entrance. Ronnie was among the other students there. Heidi wondered if she should have told her more, now that she can no longer remember herself. But would Ronnie's memories then also be affected? Heidi could never know now, and there was no point in regretting her secrecy, or her reasons for it, which as a result of being a product of the night's events, Heidi also found hazy. Her roommate Jasper was also there. Heidi gave her a silent nod from the back of the group where she stood, until they were let into the Danger Room.

There was a long period of silence once they were inside, until Heidi caught some of the students appear to be concentrating. Then she realised it wasn't silence at all. Had...had they forgot? It was possible. She scanned the roof until she spied a camera, then looked directly at it and gestured to her ears with an apologetic look on her face.

Then again, maybe she didn't need it. The Danger Room turned into a desert landscape, five lockers appeared, and in the distance a building appeared, with a flag at the top of it. This didn't take a detective to figure out. They were to put their bags in the lockers, and head to the building. It was capture the flag. The only question now was whether they were working as a team, or working against each other. She saw Ronnie ask a question, and realised that at some point, the tannoy must have asked if there were any questions. Heidi spoke up as she put her bag in the locker marked with her name.

"Is this a group exercise where we fight drones or another obstacle? Or are we competing with each other?" she asked and hoped they had a non-audio answer for her this time.

[Brioko Jobe]

Mathew Frakes

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Location:Danger Room

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Interactions & Mentions:@Silver Carrot,@Fallenreaper, @Chev,@ViolentViolet,@webboysurf

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Matt looked at the lockers. How real is this? Then quickly ignored them as he hadn’t thought to bring anything. Watching the others for guidance something sparked in his mind when Ronnie pulled the notebook out. Something about YouTube he thought but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He realised quickly that he was at a major disadvantage if this was a competitive exercise.
Next, The building appeared out of nowhere and again he pondered the reality of it. Did the exercise account for his abilities. Did these things have memories or were they something else?
The voice welcoming everyone and explaining the scenario just left more questions most of which were asked by the other kids. He hoped that one of them would take the lead. They were all older than him by two to three years.

Focusing on the building before them his eyes fixated on the padlock. If that is real and has been used or set in that last week. I should be able to find the combination but how long do we have and how far back do I rewind?

He waited patiently for the others' questions to be answered and kept his questions to himself. This is like a puzzle in one of those escape rooms he had heard about. This should be fun.

[webboysurf]

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GM Post

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There was a slight pause after the students asked their questions, with the voice returning along with a new sight: a large screen in the imaginary sky providing a voice to text transcript of Tabitha's voice. "Your objective is for at least one of ya to get to the flag by getting through the building. It is a collaborative exercise, so I would recommend relying on your mates."

The text remained in the sky for a moment, the words hovering in mid-air before slowly dissipating. The voice and a new line of text replaced the old quickly. "If there are no other questions... the flag awaits!" Tabitha's bubbly voice practically shouted that last line in glee, and it was accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets... her personal touch on the exercise, one might guess. The building, and it's rather simple entrance, waited for the students' approach.

[Chev]

Daniela Steele
Danger Room

Daniela could only watch in amazement as the room around them seemed to shift into a desert landscape with a three story building with a metal door with a padlock and chain. Daniela studied the obstacles in front of her. She wasn't sure what the point of the locker was for her. She hadn't brought a single thing with her. She had been assuming they were going to be relying solely on their powers and minds for this.

Padlock...Chain...I don't think I can do anything with that. I could blast those for hours and nothing would happen for a very long time.

She turned to look at Matt to ask him what he thought and couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be focusing on the padlock. She had no idea what awaited them in the building itself but she already knew that she was going to be keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't get hurt. She wasn't that familiar with the other students but she would be keeping an eye on all of them as well in case something was waiting for them in the building. If she had to take a beating to make sure everyone stayed safe then so be it.

[ViolentViolet]

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Interactions

Heidi Williams@Silver Carrot

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Mentions

@Chev@Brioko Jobe@Fallenreaper

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The technopath could feel the buzz around her as the Danger Room sprang to life. The intricate piece of technology would always leave the computer nerd in silent awe. Those who watched her may have detected the slightest hint of her pupils widening, the slight vibration of her entire body, or even the sharp intake of breath. The energy that no one else in the room could feel was nearly overwhelming, every fiber of her being screaming to be unleashed on the system. The first time she’d hacked into the Danger Room had ended in her enrollment here, but she’d never even told Ashford about what happened there.

The terrain changed around them, evolved, then settled with the group of them still standing there. Several of the others moved around to the lockers. She made a step towards her own when her roommate spoke up. There hadn’t been a screen for Heidi to read and no one had explained to her yet what they were doing. The technopath sighed and walked over to the girl instead, and raised the now blank white screen of her phone up to her. The words spelled out, sentences short as they always were from Jasper.

Capture the flag. Group exercise.

Knowing she wouldn’t need to keep it up long, the message vanished mere seconds after appearing, the screen blackened and dark before her arm fell back to her side. She cast her gaze over the others around the room and gauged from what she remembered from their files. Matthew; contact illusory memories. Daniela; electromancer. Veronica; paper manipulation. Heidi; perfect recall, among other mental augmentations. Jasper; technopath and electromancer. They could easily have made quite the team if they dared to get along long enough to do so.

Jasper only cared about the goal.

The means didn’t matter.

“What do you think, Smarts?”

[Silver Carrot]

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Heidi Williams

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Location: Danger Room - 9am
Interacting with:@ViolentViolet@Chev@Brioko Jobe@Fallenreaper

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Heidi smiled at her roomie who'd come in with the assist via phone screen, seconds before the wall displayed the same thing in more words. Heidi uncharacteristically let out a very tiny and brief chuckle."Thanks," she replied to Jasper, before looking at the building as Jasper asked her what she thought.

"Three stories. Square. Smooth brickwork. No pipes. Windows boarded up. First floor windows barred. They want the front door to be the only way in, so our first obstacle's the padlock. However, once we open that door, I get the feeling we'll be instantly put to the test, and the 'Danger' part of this room will become apparent. Considering the group they chose, I presume there will be a kind of electrical 'theme' to this exercise.

I know everyone's powers except Matthew's, but I bet you know it. Do you think it could help us in direct combat?"

[Almalthia]

Uná O’Brian

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Location: Institute

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Interaction: Sunday Kaylee, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Sena @Pilatus

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Mentions: Nik @webboysurf; Aya @c3p-0h & Cleo @Damo021

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Sunday Professor Everose's Office

Uná knocked on Professor Everose's office door. Relax. Just about Friday night. No one knows about Nikki. No one saw him sneak out of my room before dawn. Which if I admit it I didn't want him to either. If only I was a little bit older. The door was opened as Professor Everose smiled down at her.

"Just who I was hoping to see. Won't you come in Ms. O’Brian?" Kaylee stepped to the side waiving Uná in.

Walking in Uná sat down in a comfortable leather upholstered chair that was turned toward its twin. Relaxing into it she looked up at Professor Everose as she softly shut the door. “You wanted to see me?”

”I wanted to make sure you were alright since I didn’t get a chance to speak to you about Friday night.”

Oh boy… I’m in trouble. Uná swallowed hard but held her ground. “I didn’t mean to lose it. I’m sorry. With the meds and the alcohol I guess it wasn’t the smartest decision to make. I just wanted to have a little fun.” Uná frowned. “That sounded good at the time.”

Professor Everose sat down in the other chair and tilted her head at Una. “Well that was easy. So let me point this out. Guilt over your selfish actions that put multiple people in jeopardy is utterly unacceptable. Guilt will not make you control your actions. Will it?”

Blinking Una let the Professor’s words sink in. An expression of shock crossed her face. “Okay I deserved that. And no it won’t?”

”I’m not here to hold your hand Ms. O’Brian. Frankly it makes weak individuals. Help you own up to your mistakes. Yes. Saddle you with guilt that will crush your decision making process? Never. So let me make it clear for you. Accept it and learn from it. Guilt can take so many things from you if you let it. It can cripple you and make you do things that you wouldn’t otherwise all for the sake of assuaging it. It is a monster that is ever hungry and will destroy you. So no guilt. Just learning. Mistakes that shouldn’t be repeated.” Professor Everose’s voice was firm, no nonsense and her gaze unflinching.

Nodding Una let the guilt fall away. Okay so I made a mistake. I can learn from that. I’m not stupid. “Right. Learn from this. I can do that.”

Professor Everose nodded once, a firm solid movement. “Good. So let’s press on. Where was it that you really lost control? Avalon or Nocturne?”

Una shifted suddenly uncomfortable. “I don’t really remember. I guess it might have started at Avalon...but it was definitely past me reeling it in by Nocturne. It’s all a bit fuzzy. I’m more worried about the fact that I think I need to learn how to control it. I mean the meds are making me realize that I can. I want to be conscious and in control.”

Professor Everose nodded. “So if you have the most control of it while unconscious then maybe you should start meditation and attempting to lucid dream.”

”Lucid dream? Meditation?” Una raised an eyebrow.

”Yes. It sounds like malarky but it works for some people. You might be one of them. Tai Chi is a moving form of meditation perhaps you might want to take that up? As for lucid dreaming I have done extensive research on it since it pertains to my powers and Ms Germain’s as well. A lucid dream is defined as a dream during which dreamers, while dreaming, are aware they are dreaming. The very first record of lucid dreaming appears to feature in the treatise On Dreams by the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. In it, he describes an instance of self-awareness during a dream state. ‘If the sleeper perceives that he is asleep, and is conscious of the sleeping state during which the perception comes before his mind, it presents itself still, but something within him speaks to this effect: ‘The image of Koriskos presents itself, but the real Koriskos is not present.’ he wrote. According to some research, around half of all people have had a lucid dream at some time in their lives, and around 11% experience one or two lucid dreams per month. So the statistics are there that you could control things from sleep and possibly break a block that you feel is there. I know, I know. You didn’t say anything about a block but that is what you feel is the problem, correct?” Professor Everose smiled.

Smiling Una perked up and nodded. “You sure you’re not psychic?”

Laughing Professor Everose shook her head. “Not like you mean. Just reading auras.” She rose and got up and pulled out a small device from a desk drawer. It was a small mp3 player and ear buds. “These are some meditation and lucid dreaming exercises they might help.” She handed the device over to Una and walked over to the door opening it.

”Thank you.” Una collected the mp3 player and ear buds and taking the hint exited the office.

”You’re welcome Ms. O’Brian.” Professor Everose said softly as she inclined her head and watched Una run off the worry on her face, finally showing.

Monday

_@webboysurf
Classes were in session again and there was a new kid that wore a lab coat. He rolled up the sleeves at lunch and Una almost went and sat with him because he was new. She knew how it felt to be new but the lure of spending time with Nikki was too prevalent.

Everything seemed rosy and perfect. She had a boyfriend and things were looking up for being able to control her powers.

Tuesday

_{@Brioko Jobe}
I really should pay attention to the Professor… The periodic table went in and out of focus as thoughts drifted around in Una’s head. Then something happened. The Professor’s voice raised in pitch as if she had sucked Helium. Then the giggles and laughs started. Una couldn’t help herself, she laughed too. Her attention was caught as the “Lab Coat” guy picked up and took off milliseconds after the bell rang.

Wednesday

_@Pilatus
After classes Una decided to try her meditation before she had dinner. The afternoon was warm and overcast but she still walked to the shade in the shadow of the trees. Sitting down and crossing her legs. Closing her eyes she started breathing deeply. In and out to the count of four.

Una’s mind was too full and she sighed. Come on clear your mind. She fidgeted and stood up and stretched. Pacing back and forth she seemed to have too much energy. I can’t focus. Playing with her ponytail flicking it back and forth over her shoulder. Seeing a woman that was vaguely familiar. Her dark hair caught Una's eye and she stared.

[Fallenreaper]

ᴠᴇʀᴏɴɪᴄᴀ "ʀᴏɴɴɪᴇ" ᴍᴀʟᴄᴏʟᴍ

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_{9 am | Danger Room}

Ronnie's peripheral vision caught movement.

Her attention tracked it as she turned her head to the source. She spotted 'Tazer-girl' displaying her phone to another student, the brown-haired troublemaker. Ronnie found that odd, but she only made a note of it. The girl must’ve had an issue hearing or a mental condition. Thankfully, at least one student had the ability to relay information. Else it would’ve slowed them down much more than Ronnie liked. It took the teacher long enough to realize the issue as subtitles then appeared in thin air.

She found herself more unnerved by each new rule of reality the room broke. It was like they were in a cheap netflix movie with lame subtitles. Fiction only belonged in the imagination, not in the real world. Her fingers tightened about the spiral edge of her notebook. It rested against her hips as she debated on if she should ask more questions or let the matter rest. Upon the teacher’s bubbly voice, she held her tongue. She doubted she would get useful information.

When Ronnie watched the others converse, pain stabbed into her heart. It just reminded her of what she missed. Her allies, routine, and normalcy to the point her whole future was planned out. It all cracked when her mutant ability happened. She couldn’t salvage anything from her old life.

It is my fault for being a mutant.

Ronnie caught the run down of what Heidi gave, but didn’t take the lead. She found it suspicious how Heidi knew everyone’s ability when she just arrived a few days ago and never demonstrated it. For now, she just pushed past the discomfort. She didn’t know enough about everyone to trust them. Trust given freely just lead to disappointment. It meant she had to take things into her own hands. It was hard to wait around and do nothing when their issue stood before them.

[Brioko Jobe]

Mathew Frakes

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Location:Danger Room

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Interactions & Mentions:@Silver Carrot,@Fallenreaper, @Chev,@ViolentViolet,@webboysurf

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Taking off one glove, Matt moved toward the door, where the padlock hung. Reaching out his hand he stopped; thinking of what Heidi had said. Looking back at the group.

"I can show you the combination. This can go one of two ways. Either, the chain is electrified or it is not. Whichever, the case if... Heidi is it?" He asked quizzically before moveing on. "If she is right, then any of you with combative abilities should ready yourselves. I am not much of a fighter myself but once you pick a target keep your eyes one it and I may be able to provide a disttaction for you."

Matt thought about his discusion with Professor Finn. The Professor had asked if if he had to "rewind" and seemed to think he should be able to go directly to a desired moment. He had no idea of how to do that but drawing off every book he ever read and a couple Sciencw Fiction TV shows he figured it had something to do with concentration. He pictured the lock open in his head and focused on that image as he grabbed it with his ungloved hand, making sure the others could see the lock as well.

A wave of dizziness hit Matt and he had a sudden sensation of falling. He gripped tighter. Soon the images jumped out sharp and crisp. Matt felt like he was going to vomit and swallowed hard to stave it off. Professor Tabitha North stood in front of him clicking the lock shut. Matt realised she had just tested the lock and quickly rewound the memory. Images blurred again but only for a second. Then he let the memomry play out. Not only was she working the lock but saying the combination aloud. Matt hoped that was enough as he let go of the padlock the room returning to normal. His projected image gone.

"Tell me someone got that. I really don't wanna do that again for a bit."

He still felt dizzy but the sensation was fading fast.

Matt clumsily put his glove back on then; without realising what he was doing, perfectly copied what Professor North had just done unlocking the chain. His head lurched from the vertigo. He grabbed forward with both hands one grabbing the center chain the other the handle of the door. The room spun and he lost his balance pulling as he stumbled back, both removing the chain and opening the door.

[c3p-0h]

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The Mall - 9:50 AM

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Aya thanked the Lyft driver as she climbed out of the blue sedan. It'd been a quiet ride - after taking a look at her red, tear-stained face, the middle-aged driver had seen fit to leave her to her thoughts. He barely looked back at her as she closed the door, no doubt eager to run from a stranger's problems.

Pulling her bag strap over her shoulder, Aya made her way into the mall. It was wide and open, more of an enclosed street than a single building. Shops lined the path, doors open, wafting their perfumes or music or flashing screens, beckoning potetial customers. Aya couldn't focus on any of them. She felt the phantom weight of the envelopes in her bag, making each step heavy.

Aya spent the next hour or so wandering the mall, trying to distract herself. At one point she meandered into a shop stuffed to the brim with bath products - candles and lotions, colorful loofas hanging along a wall, glittery soaps, and body creams in wide, pastel jars. Aya had never liked these kinds of stores. The warring scents were too overwhelming, giving her a headache. But today, Aya found herself wandering through bright aisles, fingers trailing along the glossy labels. She paused on a bottle of lotion labeled Vanilla Dream, with the word tester written beneath it in thick Sharpie. Aya looked down at it. She picked it up, popping open the lid and squeezing a small dollop onto her hand. She rubbed the lotion into her hands, continuing her walk down the lotion aisle, eyes scanning the labels again.

Minty Morning.

Aya put a small squirt into her hand and then rubbed that into her skin, too. She brought her hands to her nose and gave a small sniff.

Immediately Aya's nose wrinkled, and she pulled her hands away. It was an odd combination, the mint smell overpowering the sweetness of the vanilla. Embarrassment flooded her. Aya left the store, hurrying to the bathroom to wash the lotion off her hands. The scent lingered.

She eventually found herself in a small, empty cafe, soft indie music playing over the speakers. She stared down at the stack of black envelopes on the table. They seemed to stare back at her. Aya felt her anxiety building in her stomach, up her chest, clogging her throat, coating her tongue. She took another sip of her half empty mocha. The paper bag that had once held her breakfast sandwich sat in a ruined ball in her other hand. Aya tried to swallow, tasting the chocolate of her drink, suddenly too sweet.

She pulled Professor Everose's notebook from her bag, flipping it open. The messy words of her last, chaotic session gave her pause - she hadn't realized she'd written in Japanese. Aya stared at them a moment longer before flipping to a new page. She gripped her pen too tightly in her hand, tip hovering just over the paper. Aya bit her lip. Then she picked up the second envelope and closed her eyes.

[Pilatus]

Dr. Sena Yüksel

The tires crept over crackling gravel as she eased through the front gate while the iron bars slowly opened. A darkly tinted window covered a view from the side, but her profile was faintly visible behind the glare of the windshield and the shape of exquisitely expensive sunglasses. Her fingers drummed slowly on the steering wheel as she followed the car path towards the center courtyard and Ashford’s cottage. She would have liked something more exotic, however the little Porsche didn’t draw too much attention and was exceptionally comfortable, not that she knew a lot about cars. The Terran fascination with transportation was slightly bemusing at first, but their role as status symbols was undeniable. She loved the feel of the leather under her dress and the controls felt firm and well made. Craftsmanship was something she could appreciate in any reality and the simplistic elegance of the shape ticked the boxes.

The stereo beat a low and steady rhythm as she made her way watching the movements of students and faculty about the school. Her lips moved occasionally with the words of songs she heard before though the lyrics could sometimes be puzzling. She discovered early on that in Terran language, particularly American English, words could mean literally anything. Still, the decade of the 1990s seemed to represent the epoch of recent music for the culture. Rap and R&B from the period were her favorites, often those from Los Angeles. She detested rock and roll, grunge and even worse country music. Her strapped heel clicked down softly and she reached back inside for an equally posh matching bag that seemed to be as barely used as the rest of her ensemble before starting down the pathway towards Ashford’s cottage.

Knowing that the Dean would be out of the city for a few days, she hadn’t been back on the campus since early Sunday morning...

Sunday Morning, early

The chain collapsed roughly in front of Ashford dishevelling the few papers neatly arranged in front him. A dried red flake broke and scattered with it covering the white pages in tiny fragments- a substance that he knew, the second it landed on the desk, was blood. He glanced up at Sena standing in the dim light of the office before him. Her features were dark, only shaped by the gentle light of a single lamp on his desk.

“The collar of your dog.” She said grimly.

Ashford picked the chain up carefully with a pen, examining the small metallic links in the light tarnished with the DNA of Adam Pierce. “So it is.” He said with a sigh and looking back up at her. “So have you come to finish me off as well?” He waited for an answer. The office was silent for a moment, but her glare roared back at him. “Of course, you wouldn’t do that.” He said finally.

Sena breathed in slowly. Her fingers rippled into a fist at her left hand and loosened again repeatedly. “You sent him there to spy on me.”

“I did.”

“And you didn’t believe he would get caught?” She scoffed.

“From what I saw, he nearly didn’t...” Ashford replied. He tossed the chain into a small waste bin unceremoniously and set about cleaning his desk and hands with a small handkerchief. “But he still completed his task.”

Sena shook her head as she watched him nonchalantly toss away the chain. Her lips curled at the sound of it hitting the metal basin.

“What were you looking for here, Sena?” Ashford said. He tossed the cloth aside as well and folded his hands together. “Were you expecting me to mourn? Give you some sort of capitulation from intimidation?” He said sharply. “No, you already know the answer.” His glance narrowed towards her. “I sent Mr. Pierce to follow you and I considered the information he might recover to be worth the cost of his life. He understood this as well. You underestimated us.”

She shook her head in disgust.

“So now that we are on more equal footing, perhaps you’d like to sit and we can also become more honest with each other.” He motioned with his hand to the very place where Finvarra sat on the small sofa in front of the desk.

Looking down at the empty space for a brief second, she looked back up towards Ashford. “He would tell me to just kill you.”

“Then that’s a choice you have to make isn’t it?”

Her rage had boiled over at the realization of being outplayed and her head shook lightly at the thought of it as she walked in a powerful stride down the pathway. There was still another play she could make and her thoughts wandered for a moment, fingertips tapping lightly on the side of her bag reaffirming the presence of a solid metal object inside. Among the numerous glances she got, the fortuitous glimpse of a young redhead was the only one to return the attention of her eyes from behind her sunglasses. Nearly to Ashford’s doorstep, a rare smile spread over her lips and she gave the girl a small wave with her fingers as she passed.

@Almalthia

[Brioko Jobe]

Charles Gannon

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Location: Ashford Institute/Mall

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Interactions & Mentions: Self, @c3p-0h

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The Decision

The day droned on and Charles found himself let his mind wonder. If it is so important to follow instructions, why do the other kids not seem more focused on the classes? For that matter, why was he even in those classes? The other kids needed these classes but for him the classes provided no stimulus. Was he here to learn to be normal? Whatever that was supposed to be? The other students seemed to have very little in common with each other yet seemed to have no problem relating. There was no sense of progressing one's mind and they seemed quite random in who they chose to associate with. It was all very confusing and for Charles it seemed very chaotic.

He had watched earlier as one girl just went to the front gate and left. He was curious, Charlie had a colleague that tried to leave the Silo several times growing up but he never actually made it outside. Charles had been at the institute a couple days but had yet to venture out. He needed to find somewhere to gather information and he needed new clothes, both of which were off the school grounds. They can not punish me for learning more about the world. He thought to himself and instantly knew it was little more than a justification for what he was going to do. I am not hiding or shirking responsibility. I am simply going to learn more about the world around me. Besides I really do need to get some new clothes.

A Destination

10:30am Wed

Lunch was simple, a couple pieces of fruit and a sandwich. He had decided to go to a Mall for his "social experiment". Charles stopped by his room and grabbed a stack of twenties from his suitcase. He had no idea how much clothes would cost so he grabbed a second stack of hundreds. He used a courtesy phone in the student lounge to call a taxi and then quietly walked to the front gate to wait. When he got to the Mall, he wandered around walking the full course to get an idea of what kind of stores were available. It was rather obvious to him that he had no idea what he was looking for and decided to sit for awhile and observe people to get an idea of what to buy. He chose a small indie cafe that had a window suitable for people watching and went in. The student was there seemingly writing notes. He decided not to bother her and took a seat near the window. Charles ordered a banana nut muffin and hot tea as he sat there watching the girl as much as everyone else. Whatever she was doing she did not seem happy about it.

[webboysurf]

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GM Post

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As the doors flew open, the dark interior of the building was revealed in part. The entrance to this building appeared rather simple. Peering inside, the students gathered would see the artifical sunlight cast shadows over a simple lobby area with a tile floor. A large, empty reception desk stood in front of a wall that was flanked by two long hallways. To the left and right of the entrance was a waiting area with simple chairs and coffee tables littered with magazines. A few TVs hung silent and lifeless on the walls, and the rather simple green striped wallpaper felt awfully tacky. Despite the blandness of the exterior, the interior of this danger room simulation was complex and eerie. It seemed a bit too real.

With one exception, that is. Two small red lights illuminated from the rightmost hallway. They were rather close together, but mostly obscured in shadow. They started to grow larger, matched by a series of rhythmic thumping. As the sound and lights grew, the figure they were attached to came into view. It was a rather large, mechanical beast. It had no fur or flesh, but instead appeared to be made entirely of gray metal. It had a long snout with sharp metal teeth, walked on four legs, and seemed to be standing a couple feet high. Its red eyes appeared to be locked on Matt.

Almost as soon as it came into view in the darkness did the wolf-like creature begin dashing through the lobby towards the open door. It seemed to be charging straight for a dazed and confused Matt, making significant bounds with its metal legs. It seemed to have hostile intent, and would most likely close the gap in a matter of seconds. If someone was going to do something... they'd best do it fast.

[Chev]

Daniela Steele
Danger Room
Interactions:@Brioko Jobe

Daniela couldn't help but watch with pride as Matt managed to get the lock open. "Great job, Matt." She said with a large smile. The smile faded a moment later as a large, metal wolf like creature emerged from the shadows and seemingly locked onto Matt with it's glowing red eyes. She had to give whoever designed this thing credit. It did look intimidating.

Intimidating. But not terrifying.

Nope. Not today.

Daniela stepped in front of the dazed and seemingly weakened Matt and held her hands out in front of her and faced the Metal wolf machine and narrowed her eyes as crackling arcs of electricity formed around her hands. "Down snoopy." She growled as she launched a barrage of electrical blasts at the metal wolf's head.

[Silver Carrot]

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Heidi Williams

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Location: Danger Room - 9am
Interacting with:@ViolentViolet@Chev@Brioko Jobe@Fallenreaper

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Heidi watched Matthew speak, taking a break from silently listening only to say "It won't be electrified. They're trying to test us, not kill us." She continued to watch as his ability created what seemed to be projections of the past. Now that was interesting. Was it related to the space in front of the lock, or the memory of the lock itself? Not the biggest difference but she'd have to take into account that it could be either before she issued any commands to Matthew.

But she saw (after taking note of the combination) that opening it had drained Matthew, and the door was opening. If Heidi was right, and there were threats inside the room, he was in danger. She was already running towards him when the door started to open. Seeing the robotic enemy inside so close to the door only added to her haste. When she reached Matthew, Daniela was already engaging the robot, so Heidi grabbed Matthew, and started pulling him back from the door. If Daniela hadn't stepped in front of them, she'd have pulled to the side to evade the beast's attacks. But right now, pulling him backwards was the best course of action.

There were already a myriad of ways Heidi could think t co-ordinate their team but there wasn't time to explain complex commands, and Heidi giving orders right now might make things more confused and chaotic. She would put trust in her companions that they could take down one robot between them.

[Almalthia]

Uná O’Brian

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Location: Institute

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Interaction: Wednesday Sena @Pilatus

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Mentions:

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Watching the beautiful dark haired woman smile and wave at Uná was just enough to distract her from her current predicament. Giving up on the idea of meditation Uná looked around. Nope no one's looking. Even if they were she's already on campus and near Dean Ashford's house so she probably belongs here. Is she a family member? I can't see her as a girlfriend. She's not old enough for him. And far to pretty.

Moving over to the dark haired woman Uná smiled brightly at the woman. She vaguely remembered that the Dean had a Doctor that was female and Uná had seen her around on and off. Just the other day as a matter of fact...now that I think of it. 

Uná held out her hand. "Hello I'm Uná O’Brian. We haven't been formally introduced but I've seen you about a few times."

Uná noticed the similarities between the woman in front of her and her mother. Well adopted mom. But her hair was that rich loam color, same as Ginger O'Brian's, and she was chic in the red and navy dress. The stripes were bold and the belt just the right shade to match the blooming roses that took the outfit from severe to fiercely feminine. It was something her mother would wear, and it comforted her instantly putting her at ease.

Uná inwardly grimaced as she recalled her undignified outfit of a lime green sports bra, black yoga pants with a matching lime green stripe and charcoal sneakers with her ankle socks peeking out in a lime green rebellion. She had felt like the color this afternoon, all energy and light, now it just felt childish next to the stunning woman. Far away were the thoughts of Ginger swearing that Uná could make even the most unappetizing green color beautiful. 

[Almalthia]

Kaylee Everose

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Into the Mind's Eye

Rubbing her temple Kaylee glanced over at the clock. Noon. The chime of the old clock rang musically invading her thoughts. Aya should be back by now but she wasn't. Glaring down at her work that she'd gotten caught up in as the time flew she pushed away from the desk and stood, sliding her stockinged feet easily back into her shoes. She cocked her knee tying each shoe determinedly and swiftly with an absent-mindedness, as if mechanically. 

If one could see into the inner workings of Kaylee's mind they would see chaos. If one also normally invaded the inner sanctum of Kaylee Jude Everose they would know that this was not normal. Everything has a place, and everything in its place. That was Kaylee. None of the hurly-burly chaos that was currently a way to describe her current thought process. As if fluttering around like a butterfly in a field of flowers Kaylee's thoughts flitted between what was going on with Aya to what game Ashford was playing to Cole saying neither he nor Uná were mutants.

Moving on autopilot Kaylee transferred her office phone to her cell then walked out the door shutting it behind her absently. Breaking her thought process down would help her. The subtle click of her heels on the smooth gleaming hardwood floors kept her grounded in reality. She didn't have time to indulge in the Astral and untie the Gordian Knot that was rolling around in her head. 

Much like Alexander the Great when faced with the knot she cut it apart. Filing bits away to examine later. Facts first.

Uná and Cole, not mutants. Filed as possible fact.

Ashford, changing her duties to more Administrative work than teaching. Fact.

Ashford, putting a situation that was possibly, not possibly it was, damaging in a remote viewing for Aya to see. Fact. The girl had broken down in front of her eyes and Kaylee would confront him about it when he got back. She'd been stunned at the depth of emotion from Aya that she'd almost severed the connection. But Aya had been too lost in it. Pulling her out early could have damaged her. But if one was that bad Kaylee wondered what the rest were like. If the lack of evidence was anything to go by Kaylee had a lot of apologizing to do.

There it was. What was truly bothering her. Ashford’s disregard for the mental health of Aya. Kaylee was complicit in that. She hadn’t reviewed the test and said that Aya shouldn't be exposed to the viewing. She'd done Aya a disservice. She was to blame.

Was she too trusting? Why hadn't she balked at this mandate? Better yet when was the last time she had?

I've Got Bad Feeling

She felt like Miss Clavel from Madeline running around the school going "Something is not right. Something is quite wrong." as she realized that she was headed to check on Aya.

Knocking on the closed door Kaylee found herself holding her breath waiting for a response. 

Nothing.

Again a slightly sharper rata-tat-tat a half a minute after the first.

Still nothing.

Turning the knob Kaylee opened the door. "Aya? I wan-" She froze. Both beds were empty and made. The room was clean and uncluttered. 

Refusing to panic and give in to that inner Miss Clavel she did the only clear thing she could. Shut the door and find Aya.

After checking the normal classes that Aya would have been in Kaylee started on the abnormal ones. The substitute for the Biology class that she normally taught caught her eye. Raising an eyebrow Kaylee let Ramón Santos pull her aside.

"Kaylee, one of the new students, Charles Gannon isn't in class. I checked with a couple of his other Professors from the last couple of periods to see if he was held up or went to the nurse and he hasn't been seen since his second period class."

Kaylee nodded to Ramón. "I'll look into it. Thanks Ramón." She smiled and waved at a few of the students who waved at her. She knew that she hadn't seen Charles on her hunt for Aya.

Yup. Something wasn't right. Something was very wrong. She'd just officially turned into Miss Clavel. Well this Miss Clavel had powers and it was time to use them. 

Shifting her sight into the Astral Plane Kaylee focused on scanning for Aya and Charles' colors. Everyone had a signature color or combination of colors Kaylee just had to sift through and find the specific ones. Heading out to her car she decided that she'd narrow her focus and pin-point the truant students.

_{@c3p-0h & @Brioko Jobe}

[ViolentViolet]

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Danger Room

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Interactions

The Robot Wolf

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Amid the consistent buzzing of electrical signals inside the Danger Room, Jasper fed on the energy. The lines of code just out of reach where she hadn't drawn to grasp them. The Room would lock down if she wasn't careful, but the things it created inside should be well within her abilities. She very rarely stopped using her abilities after all, and in the four years since she awakened them she likely had more practice than many of the students. The Danger Room was simply the most intricate piece of technology she'd come into contact with since she began her journey. One day she'd be in it without a problem, and then it would be onto the next thing.

The door swung open while she was barely paying attention to more than was needed to record the scene she watched in front of her. She switched focuses as the door opened and something else caught her attention. The different signal, the snap of electricity. Daniela and Heidi moved before she did, the mechanical attacker on the other side of the wall gaining speed even as they did. Jasper stayed rooted in place unlike then, her eye closed, basic lines of binary code floated to the surface of the skin on her hands and cheeks. She cast her mind out, the signal reached the robot a moment later. No matter what happened with the electrical charge from Daniela, or with Heidi moving towards the commotion, Jasper was intent on taking over the robotic wolf.

She was strong enough, and fast enough. She knows that.

Let me in.

[webboysurf]

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GM Post

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The next few moments were tense within the Danger Room as the students began to react simultaneously. Bolts of electricity launched from Daniela's fingers as she attacked the metal beast, which had still had its eyes locked on Matt's form as Heidi rushed in to pull him from harm's way. When the electricity made contact, the beast was launched backwards slightly, as if hit by a surge of force. The mechanical form rolled over itself for a moment, before slowly rising back to its feet. The red eyes appeared slightly brighter as its charred head turned towards Daniella. The eyes themselves seemed to lock on to the girl who attacked it, before the light behind them grew dim for a moment.

As Jasper reached out into the code, doing her best to take control of the beast from within the simulation, she could sense the code itself changing on the fly as a result of her probing. And she could tell, for the briefest of moments, that her plan had worked. She could see, for a split second, through the eyes of the mechanical wolf as it stared with hostile intent towards her classmates. But as she probed even farther than that, bypassing the room's security measures to take control of the beast itself, that the code began changing to fight her. While Jasper was quick, whatever code was creating the world within the Danger Room seemed to be just as quick. And it was not eager on giving up control to the technopath. The mechanical wolf seemed to "glitch" slightly as Jasper vied for control over the beast, the projection seeming to stutter and repeat the small movements of the beast getting ready to pounce. While she wasn't yet successful in taking over the beast, it was left vulnerable.