Bubsy 2

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Emma's skin was now pockmarked by stinging shallow cuts- the rainbow glitter which might have at first appeared festive was in reality dangerous, it appeared. The battle around Emma raged on: Lawrence and Christmas formed a duo in which the former appeared to be doing most of the work with his shotgun, with an injured Hazel flying to their defense. The glitter appeared to have had a greater effect on Hazel than on the others.

She didn't want to think about what Kusari and Sander were doing. She had been warned about the nature of his power but it was unsettling all the same.

Emma considered joining her roommates (and Christmas), but before she could do so she needed to worry about the enemy in front of her. She had learned two lessons in the last sortie (Despite her inexperience Emma was in fact able to analyze the last engagement and evaluate her effectiveness): If she wished for her Tulpas to undergo more complex action she would have to command them herself, for example they will not use their powers independently. The other piece of information she had picked up was their fragility- of course they were entirely expendable but it would still be preferable if they did not die faster than she could muster up the emotion to summon them.

With this now under Emma's consideration Determination and Devotion once again appeared in front of her, the charging dogs closing in. She had a solid plan of attack, or at least one she had perceived as solid:

"Devotion, turn the ground into sludge in front of us! A-and determination, when the wolves reach it try to take them all out!" Emma's voice was unsurprisingly still shaky and unsuited for command, but her Tulpas complied all the same.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Emma returned to find a dorm bereft of Lawrence. She was not too surprised, after all she had no doubt he had classes to attend and any number of other things to do than hang out in a room by himself (Not accounting for, of course, the ever so important company of Lizzy). For the next couple of hours she worried over her phone in sulken silence, hoping against hope that Val would respond to her text which had now become texts.

Of course no response came. Emma's head by now was spinning a number of stories that were helped along by her stigma- Maybe Val hated her because of her powers, or maybe she was hurt when Emma was captured, or any number of potential scenarios. It was hard to separate her actual worries from those that stemmed from her stigma.

Her stomach rumbled. All she had today was ice cream.

Emma glanced over at Hazel, considering that she could perhaps invite her to lunch, but decided against it. No doubt this morning's antics had been enough of a system shock to the girl who Emma viewed as sheltered. Emma left with no announcement- she had a severe lack of mirth, and she doubted that Hazel would mind either way.

---

Emma had been nigh constantly surprised by the luxury that USARILN afforded its students. It was a prison all the same, albeit a very comfortable prison. Emma had been feeling somewhat encouraged by now- the food looked surprisingly good with an ample selection to boot, and all of the stimulation was calming her stigma. She may have only recently received her power but she was learning the ropes- the stigma may always be there, but it becomes more bearable if she kept active. To this end she resolved to begin introducing herself around; Emma, after all, was a social creature so going around and talking to new people wasn't overly difficult for her. No doubt the cafeteria was full of potential friends, or so Emma had thought.

Her selection of food was modest- most would be tempted to gorge the first time they saw the enticing buffet, but Emma was a teenage girl which lent to the fact that she was to no small degree image obsessed. Her appearance was one of the few things she could take pride in- even when she was down she was still able to recognize that she was fabulous. Gorging herself on food, of course, would detract from this and the morning's ice cream already felt like enough of a splurge for her.

Emma would spend the next hour wandering from person to person, trying to make friends, collecting contacts, and learning more of the world of USARILN. She succeed more often than not in getting along with the groups she met, as was completely natural to her. No doubt she would soon become well known among the students and staff of USARILN.

---

Emma's return to the dorms was unceremonious. She gave Hazel a greeting than sat back down. She heard some interesting tidbits regarding USARILN that she wished to learn more about- and that led back to Death and Taxes, of course. It was a name she had heard in conversation, a secretive forum for subnaturals- Mages. Emma corrected, realizing the term subnaturals was in poor taste among her new community. She set in with her phone, resolving to learn as much of her new existence as she could. She poured over the stickied topics, and there was one term that she came upon that particularly interested her.

Animus? An Aberration with no Stigma?

Emma blinked.

Of course she wanted to get right of her stigma. It had been everything that had been holding her back, was it not? But hurting people was out of the question, of course.

---

The alarm was scary and the beeping from the anklets of everyone in the dorm certainly did not help. She listened to the mechanical voice, almost not believing what she was hearing.

Menagerie? So it's true, a Precursor is rebelling...

The next bit of news, of course, was much scarier. Emma froze. There was no way, absolutely no conceivable way that what she was hearing was accurate. They were going to send new students to fight a Precursor, a mage of incredible strength with a fount of experience when it came to fighting... and she was one of those students?

She glanced at Lawrence and Hazel. It did not appear that this was a bad dream. It was, in fact, reality. A reality that absolutely terrified her.

I'm scared... I don't want to... I could die...

Her self-pity was interrupted by Lawrence, who was now barking orders, to Lizzy and to her. The door. She had to open the door.

She complied, now moving out of instinct rather than intent. She didn't even realize she moved, in fact, still feeling frozen in place. How could she possibly fight someone, let alone a Precursor? She was a high school girl, what did they expect?

She was on the truck before she knew it.

---

Note

Full details of this section in Snaggle's post

Emma sat, wallowing. She perceived the arguments, she nodded along, she shook her head in disagreement, but she wasn't really present. It wasn't until and argument broke out that she suddenly snapped back to reality and she realized she had to fight. There was no choice. No arguing it, either fight or die. She spoke up but wished she hadn't.

---

She was standing on the battlefield. She realized where she was and the thought felt strange in her head- standing on the battlefield? It didn't feel like the right thing to think, there must have been a mistake, but in reality that was in fact where she was. She didn't have time to think about the naked man on the ground screaming.

Wait, naked man on the ground screaming?

Apparently she did have time to think about that, because she gave a curious glance and then quickly averted her eyes. He really was naked. Why was he naked? What was wrong with him? Was he some kind of pervert?

The loud bang of a shotgun brought her back to reality. She realized that the fight was beginning- she was really in battle. She hesitated- Lawrence was fighting and the others wouldn't be far behind. She had to do something, didn't she? She couldn't let everyone down, could she? She didn't really make the conscious decision to start fighting, but she was getting ready to before she knew it.

She didn't quite 'get' her powers yet, but she did have a vague idea. Emotions created the creatures, and she could tell them would to do. They all had different abilities. She ran it over in her head:

Force pull... suicide bomber... quicksand... strong guy... and... energy drain?

She was uncertain, but felt like she had got it right. There was an innate feeling in her about what she could and couldn't create and what they were tied to. Only two had responded when she called on them... was she unable to really feel the emotions of the others?

Determination and Devotion rose from the ground. They were creatures of churning shadow collapsing against itself, seeming to be fluid but with a definite shape. They were about the same size as her, almost seeming to mirror her proportions... and Emma now had to fight with them, she realized. Her eyes locked on the dog-like creatures. Lawrence had shot the eye-boot thing, and she would follow up by attacking them.

"A-a-attack the dogs..." She said unceremoniously.

They did not move. Devotion seemed to look back and give her a glance of curiosity, tilting its head. At least Emma registered it as curiosity- it was hard to apply emotion to the shadow creatures. She would have to be louder.

"Attack the dogs!" Her voice was shaky but louder. The creatures complied, Devotion first and then Determination after a small delay. The latter seemingly needed to think about the action. Notably Devotion did not use its ability- they both ran blindly at the nearest dog, with the intent to simply hit it as commanded.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

There's a post! For people not keeping score in Discord this takes place before the alert, and then we're going to transition Emma and Hazel into the current red team collab for when that is posted by Snaggle.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

As Emma finished her exams she sat for a moment, contemplating them. She had thought that she had done a good job. Apparently Lawrence had thought so too, or at least she looked like she was, judging by his earlier remark. She had always been a good student but there was some degree of disquiet in her mind regarding the test- perhaps it was just the fact that they were tests to determine her place in what was effectively a prison?

She glanced around at her roommates. In truth she hadn’t really been paying attention to what they had been doing while she was finishing. Emma had the ability to focus if nothing else. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She had another plethora of messages from concerned friends and family. She had long since put her phone on silent to avoid the annoyance of the constant ringing and beeping. She scrolled through them quickly, looking for that one message in particular that she hoped to find.

Of course it wasn’t there. Emma chewed her lip, whether It was out of either concern or stress she couldn’t say. In truth it was likely a caustic combination of the two. She turned off her phone and placed it back in her pocket, turning herself towards Hazel. From what she had seen the girl was the odd sort- from her hairstyle to her stripping episode this morning to her odd manner of speaking. Most people don’t respond to an invitation by saying ‘I have no objections to that.’ Emma shook away those thoughts. Surely she was just overthinking things, Hazel was probably a normal person like everyone else and Emma would do her very best to be friends of her.

“Hazel, you ready to go?” She asked with a smile. She began collecting the papers that she had to turn into the office- whether Hazel was coming or not she was going to go drop them off before they inevitably got lost or forgotten.

Blinking, Hazel put away all the papers on her table in a neat pile, separating what she had been working on from the ones she had not touched. She had been working on those for quite a bit, though she knew not the answer for most of them. Of course, considering it was a test, she filled in what she knew, which was admittedly very little. Standing up, she turned to Emma.

"Yes. Please lead the way."

”Alright… we’ll be back soon, okay Lawrence?” She said to her other roommate. Emma lead her newfound follower out the door, closing it softly behind her. As they headed out the dorm building Emma tried to muster up all the small talk she could. ”Let’s stop by the office first so I can drop off all my paperwork… speaking of, how are you doing on the test? I saw you weren’t quite finished.” Emma said, trying her very best to sound polite and cheery.

"Yes. I am doing my best on the tests." That was all Hazel answered as she followed the girl out of the building. It was not because she was being unfriendly, or actively trying to avoid Emma, but simply Hazel answering what was asked, and only what was asked. For her to offer any more information beyond what was asked was unlikely.

”Uh-huh…” Maybe it was Emma’s fault for expecting something more? Maybe Hazel didn’t want to talk about the test? That must’ve been it, Emma decided. Maybe if I ask her something else…? Emma was putting her all into maintaining her smile. She had resolved to be friends with Hazel, and she wasn’t going to stop now. ”Sooooo… where are you from, Hazel?”

"I don't know." It was a simple answer, and correct in every way. Hazel did not know where she came from, for she had forgotten. She did not know where the facility was located, because she was not told its location. Even if she did know where it was, that question would require the person asking to at least have a Beta level clearance.

****

By the time they had arrived Emma had assaulted Hazel with a barrage of questions, receiving answers not dissimilar to what she had gotten so far: Simple, concise, non-conversational responses. Trying to get to know Hazel was like an interrogation so it seemed. This was partially Emma’s fault, as she didn’t once push Hazel for further explanation out of fear of rudeness. Emma was not sure if Hazel’s brevity of speech was due to a dislike of talking to her or something else. Although she generally felt that she was pretty decent at reading people Hazel seemed an enigma to her, although to Emma’s credit not once did she sigh in frustration or lose her amicable smile.

The store that they had arrived at could best be described as ‘run of the mill’. It was a simple budget department store that Emma found courtesy of her phone’s internet. She had resisted her first inclination to go for something more extravagant; her family was not exactly poor and she was used to fancy brand name clothing. Despite this she had the sensibility to not spend all of her money on one outfit. She would also need food and likely a number of other things, so she would have to be sensible when it came to shopping. Emma glanced at Hazel, ”So… Hazel, I’m assuming you need clothes too… where should we start?”

"..start?" Hazel tilted her head questioningly. If it was about clothes, she had enough, and she had certainly no real need for more clothes when the ones she had now suffices. If anything she was more interested in what was going on around her, though she remained as reserved as always. It seemed like the first time she had ever been to such a place, with so many people just walking about minding their own business. To at least not seem rude to Emma, she glanced over the clothings, and determined that there was no armor, airtight suits with gas masks, or the likes being sold. Only clothings that didn't offer anything else over what she had already. "Do I need clothes?"

Emma was a little taken aback by the question. The confusion on her face was evident, her smile turning into a downturned line. For several seconds the awkward silence hung. … does she? Does she… need clothes? Does she need clothes? Emma played the question over in her head several times. Did she mishear? No, she didn’t think she did at least. She knew that something wasn’t quite right was Hazel, even she was perceptive enough to pick up on that, even if she herself would deny her own observation as she found it incredibly rude to make such a presumption about another person. All the same even if she did except some degree of oddity the question did catch her off guard. ”Well… I had assumed that everyone was in the same position that I was in and didn’t have much… I guess that’s my fault… uh, well, what clothes do you have?” Emma said with no small degree of awkwardness, trying her best to maintain a small smile.

Memories of the scientists arguing over which clothes fit her better suddenly resurfaced, brought on as she tried to remember how much she had. "A bag packed with them. Count unknown. Should you feel that my wardrobe is lacking, then please tell me what I should add." Being the way she was, all she noticed from Emma was her discomfort, though the reasons for that discomfort escapes her.

Emma blinked at Hazel, trying to ferret some possible explanation for Hazel’s behavior in her brain.

Has she… she hasn’t been shopping before, has she?

Restrictive parents?

Or maybe she’s one of those kids that was raised in the wild by wolves?

Or… maybe she was in some weird cult that didn’t let her go outside?

The more she thought about it the stranger Emma’s explanations got. Emma resolved once again to help Hazel, as she clearly had some sort of deficiency when it came to independent behavior. Emma nodded, taking Hazel’s wont for command as an invitation to help her find clothes. She looked the girl up and down, trying to determine what kind of outfit would best suit her. Something… sensible, not too flashy… but it has to be cute… I should get a jacket for her too, it'll be winter soon... something timeless, not too complex... or maybe something bold and unusual for her… hmmm...

”Okay, okay, wait here, I’ll be right back.”

Emma soon returned with a small collection of clothes that would constitute one outfit: A blue cardigan with a plain yellow shirt to wear underneath, complemented by a pair of red leggings. Emma had a feeling Hazel's current clothing wasn't very colorful, so she was hoping that the vibrant mix would be a bit of a change-up for the girl. ”Here, Hazel, try these on.” Emma said cheerfully. She remembered her earlier stripping episode and amended, ”Go in one of the rooms over there to change… and, uh, lock the door behind you.” She said, pointing towards the fitting rooms.

Hazel already had her skirt open, before Emma suggested the changing rooms. Nodding, she took the clothes with her inside one of the open changing rooms. It was certainly different than what she was used to. The leggings alone took away the feeling of freedom she had, though the cardigan and shirt was comfortable. To her the clothing put together made little sense, for what purpose can these truly have? Warmth? If so, she would have substituted the legging for something else. Protection? These offered nothing over her usual clothes. But Emma did tell her to wear it, so wear it she shall. Fully dressed, she stepped out of the changing room. There was an odd gait to her movements, perhaps due to her unfamiliarity with the leggings. "Is this to your liking?"

Emma looked Hazel up and down as she emerged. She looked… cute, Emma supposed, albeit incredibly uncomfortable. When Hazel asked if it was ‘to your liking’ Emma shook her head slightly, not in respones to the outfit but to the question. She had by now accepted that Hazel wasn’t great at acting independently, although was still slightly taken aback by her odd mannerisms. ”No, no, Hazel… you shouldn’t worry about what someone else thinks of your clothes… do you like it?”

"I do not have any particular attachment to these." Came the answer readily. Pulling on the leggings to examine it, and exposing a bit of her underwear in the process, she continued. "It's hard to move in. If at all possible, I would have preferred a skirt. Did these have some sort of tactical advantage I do not know of?"

Emma nodded. ”A skirt… of course, I should’ve noticed… I’ll be right back…” Emma started to walk away but quickly stopped and turned around. ”Wait, tactical advantage? Uhhhhh… you should… uhhhh…” Emma paused. Okay… okay… she doesn’t… really get the point of clothing… alright… Emma’s smile returned. She had to be nice. She had to, she told herself. ”Have… have you considered… hmmmm… instead of looking at the, er, ‘tactical’ aspect of clothing… have you ever considered wearing what looks good on you? Like, something that people will think looks good…. Or something that you like wearing because you feel good wearing it?” Emma’s explanation came out awkwardly. She’d never had to explain the concept of fashion to someone before, and certainly had never prepared to. Despite this she was wearing her kindest possible smile. She really was doing the best she could.

"Wearing my usual clothes feel good." Hazel affirmed, nodding as she did so.

Emma nodded again. Okay, okay, I can do this. Emma turned around. She had been eyeing a skirt earlier, thinking that it might perhaps suit Hazel. She picked it off a rack and returned to Hazel, holding it up. It was blue, and notably shorter than Hazel’s usual skirt. Similar enough but also different, Emma had hoped. ”Do you like this, Hazel?”

"I don't have any particular like or dislike for it."

Emma felt like she was proverbially pulling teeth at this point. ”Well, uh, is there anything here that you do like? She said as nicely as humanly possible. She was still, by some great miracle, smiling.

Hazel looked around, but what her gaze lingered on was not one of the clothes inside the store, but one of the stores outside. It was brightly coloured, with cheerful looking people there. One of them, the one behind a counter, took out a colorful globe with a strange spoon and slapped it onto a disappointingly brown cone wrapped with tissues. Her curiosity piqued, but she turned back to Emma. "No. I do not think I have any particular interest in anything here."

Emma watched as Hazel looked around. She saw something catch her eye, but Emma realized she wasn’t looking in the store. Emma followed her gaze to find… Ice cream? Emma nodded to herself. ”Okay! That’s just fine. Head back into the changing room and put your regular clothes on, I’ll go and pay for my stuff while you’re doing that. Oh, and, uh, put that stuff back where it belongs, alright?” Emma said, gesturing to the clothes that she had given her. She spoke with a renewed vigor, her smile returning to her face in a much more genuine manner. I’m going to make sure Hazel has a good time! It’s clear she doesn’t hang out with people often. Emma resolved to herself once again. She nodded at her and turned to find the register.

Nodding at the command, Hazel disappeared once again into one of the changing rooms. She wasn't quite sure what Emma wanted to do with all those clothes, but she was never one to ask questions or probe. A single change of clothes would be quite enough for her, considering all she wore during her time in the facility was that thin white thing, which was more often than not discarded for some of the experiments and tests they ran on her. Wearing her own clothes once again, she went to find Emma at the register. "I have done as you asked."

As Emma arrived at the counter she greeted the cashier with a smile, and she returned in kind with… wide eyed astonishment? Emma was slightly confused as the clearly awed girl took her new clothes and began scanning them. Confusion turned to embarrassment as she spoke up, ”So, you’re, uh… you’re one of those subnaturals, right?! From the la- er, the school, yeah?! You’ve got the X and everything!” Emma’s eyes narrowed slightly. Of course, the people in this town must see subnaturals… well, fairly often, but not too often, I guess? People probably don’t leave the school too often because of this… Emma tried to maintain her smile as she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. ”Uhhhhhh… well, yeah, I am….”

Emma was not prepared.

”Oh! That’s so weird! Can I touch your mark?! What’s your power?! Can I get your autograph… you know, in case you become one of the famous ones!” Most people when asked for an autograph feel like the subject of admiration, but Emma felt more like a zoo animal. ”Also your total is 124 dollars and 46 cents…” The girl said awkwardly as a silence fell between them. Emma retrieved her card from her wallet and handed it to her. She was trying to think of something to say. Or maybe she didn’t want to see anything? Emma heard Hazel behind her, telling her she was done. ”Great! Great, great, great! Uhhhh… Hazel we have to hurry… we’re uh, running late!” She gave an apologetic glance to the cashier, who angrily handed Emma her bags. The awe in her eyes was replaced very quickly by… Emma wasn’t quite sure… scorn? Or disappointment? It was hard for her to say. Emma hurriedly ushered Hazel outside, knowing she wouldn’t question if asked to follow.

When they were once again outside Emma stopped Hazel. She knew she would have to clarify, ”We’re not actually late… I just wanted to get away from that cashier… anyways…” Emma pointed at the ice cream shop, ”Did you want to get some?”

Hazel did not resist when she was pulled away from the clothing store and towards the ice cream shop. It was all so colorful, looking like one of those nutrient paste she usually ate for dinner, but with firmer and more solid. As a result of her thinking to herself, she missed Emma's question about the ice cream. "Ah. Apologies, I did not hear what you said just now."

Emma pointed to the ice cream shop again. "Do... do you want to get some?" She repeated.

Hazel stayed silent for a moment, thinking, before she made a reply. "Yes, I would like to have some." She stepped forwards towards the counter, intending to get one for herself, but was almost instantly defeated by the sheer amount of choices they had.

Emma followed behind Hazel. Seeing her apparent confusion Emma elected to lead, hoping that Hazel would pick up the Emma’s cues. ”I’ll have… a cookie dough cone, please.” The shopkeeper complied, but he had the same look that the cashier at the clothing store had before. Emma did her best to ignore it,”What do you want Hazel?” she prompted.

What did she want? Hazel turned towards the counter, eyeing the various treats in front of her. The green one looks interesting, but the one in a shade of red seems very enticing. The purple one sitting at the far side looks mysterious and appealing. What was that about the cones? Cookie dough? Were they cookies? She didn't even know of any types of cookies besides just 'cookie'. Clouded her mind might be, but slight panic still arose at the prospect of having to make a decision by herself. Reaching an epiphany, she turned to Emma.

She gave a slight bow. "I will accept any that you pick for me."

Emma nodded. She was slightly more acclimated to the subservient behavior now, even if she didn’t approve of it. She took it as a large enough victory that Hazel seemed excited to get ice cream. ‘Excited’ being used relative to how she had been acting so far, getting her to actually seem to want to do something was ‘excited’ enough. Emma glanced over the choices… she was eyeing Hazel as she had looked over, who seemed to be particularly enticed by a purple ice cream. Purple? The sign said it was yam ice cream. Yam? Hmmmm… that sounds good… and Hazel looked like she wanted it… Plus Emma liked the color purple. By now Emma had been handed her own cone, she looked to the shopkeeper ”We’ll also have a yam cone.”

Hazel took the cone handed to her after they paid, looking blankly at it. It felt... it felt slightly wrong. She glanced around, almost expecting disapproving faces looking at her, but finding none of the sort. She was still there, ice cream cone in her hand, and no one seemed to disapprove, or even care that she was holding a cone in her hands. No one seems to care about her breaking her usual strict diet. Imitating what she saw the other people doing to their ice cream, she had a taste of the purple ice cream she held. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise at her first taste of ice cream outside the facilty. It was somehow frozen but soft, creamy but easy on the tongue, sweet but not overwhelmingly so. A taste she could have never imagined she could have tasted again. Indeed she had forgotten the taste of everything besides the paste and the other things they fed her in controlled amounts in that facility.

Emma paid the cashier, who thankfully held back whatever comments he had about their super-powered status. Emma turned to Hazel, taking a lick of her cone and then telling her, ”We should probably be heading back… how do you like it, by the way?” Emma had the odd suspicion that Hazel may have never had ice cream before.

"I don't have any particular like or dislike for it." Hazel continued eating away at the ice cream slowly. They had went here first to look for clothings, which she apparently lacks, and had instead went for the ice cream, with only Emma having bought any clothes. It was a rather large deviance from the original plan, but... it was not actually that bad.

"But I would not mind having more of these."

Well… I guess that’s the biggest victory I’ll get today. Hazel seems to have liked the ice cream, I think, so at least there’s that. Emma smiled at Hazel, turning back towards the school. The walk back was quiet, absent of Emma’s interrogation; Emma suspected that Hazel would perhaps prefer to enjoy her ice cream in silence.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Emma sat still as Director Zhang looked over the group- she saw little use in resisting and was interested in getting out of the interrogation room as soon as possible. The girl was visibly distressed, clearly not acclimated to a situation like this. She'd hardly ever even seen a gun before, and certainly has never had them pointed at her while she was handcuffed and unable to move. Suffice to say the girl wasn't a big fan of USARILN East's orientation. When she first heard of the institute it was pitched to her as a school, but it now felt more like a prison. Emma gauged the reactions of the others- she was hoping they wouldn't cause trouble, as doing so would in turn cause more trouble for her. Their actions varied from anger to silent acceptance; one boy made a joke of the situation, and Emma couldn't help but chuckle slightly at his quips. At least, she would've been chuckling if not for their situation- Emma was hardly in the mood for jokes, but all the same the scarred boy put her a little more at ease. There was another notable boy in their party- but he hadn't been on the bus with them. They had brought him in, perhaps to calm them? Let them know that despite all the 'fanfare' it wasn't all bad? He sipped from a cup of coffee; something that would no doubt would have been of help to Emma. He appeared to be a student, and took time to reassure them that they would be relatively safe if they agreed to enter USARILN peacefully. Emma hardly had it in her to argue with him. She found his presence somehow soothing, even in the terrible situation she found herself in. She wasn't exactly sure why but as soon as he had entered the room a small sense of serenity crept in with him.

However soon enough any semblance of calm was quickly broken. One of the other girls, a tall and pale women with a near ghostly appearance, stood up. She had been one of the more hostile members of their group, quick to deride the boy that Zhang had brought in. As soon as Emma recognized her she also recognized that her handcuffs were gone. How is that possible? When did she get the chance to remove them? The girl rose her hands, quick to surrender despite her desire to escape from bondage. It seemed her only desire was to ask them to hurry the orientation along. Why go through all that trouble just for that? Emma had no time to wonder. Zhang seemed almost content to let the transgression slide, but one of her lackeys had an itchy trigger finger. Zhang shot him in the arm before he could unload on the group, but several stray bullets were caught by some of her fellow new arrivals. Emma recoiled in fear, letting out a surprised gasp. Tears welled in her eyes- she had never seen anyone die, and was hoping that it would stay that way. The sound of the bullets rung in her ear- they were so loud, unexpectedly so. She quickly hid her eyes for her own sake. They only opened again when she felt someone roughly grab her leg- they placed an ankle bracelet on her and took away her handcuffs. She gave a quick glance to the other students- the ones that had been shot- to see if they were alright, but quickly looked away. She didn't have it in her to look at they gory scene, and they certainly didn't look okay.

Before long a bumbling secretary came in- he looked out of place among the military personal, seemingly as shocked as Emma was at the death that had occurred. He was bout to speak, but his role was forcibly taken from him by a man who Emma assumed to be Zhang's commander. He began to announce who would be roomed with who- it didn't take them long to read off her name.

"Hazel Baker--exception, Emma Halwell--exception, Lawrence Ellison. Suite 318. Building A."

Emma gave an odd look- she was an exception? She didn't bother to question it, she was ready to leave. The picture became clear soon enough anyways; the other Aberrations were given single rooms, but she was roomed with the Arbiters, presumably for good behavior. Emma shivered a little- she would have preferred a single. In fact, she was downright terrified of having to deal with roommates; she would have to maintain her usual chipper exterior nearly all day. Thankfully as the list was finished the secretary announced that they were finally allowed to leave. Emma breathed a sigh of relief. There were two other interesting pieces of information that came with this; they would have to take a written assessment and a combat assessment. Emma wasn't too worried about a academic test, but combat? Of course she knew that she should've expected this. Subnatural's were expected to be the government's weapon now. She was effectively a soldier, but that reality hadn't quite set in. Emma had never been in a fight, least of all one that involved superpowers and monsters. At the very least she had four days to prepare. She resigned herself to worrying about it when she came to it.

Finally she was carted off along with her new roommates to their dorm. She looked at the others- her new roommates.. Hazel had been silent during the entire ordeal, but something about her off-put Emma. Her eyes were hidden behind a wall of bangs and she had seemed entirely calm despite everything. The other was Lawrence, the veteran student of their group. His presence was once again somewhat calming, although Emma wasn't sure why. She didn't really know him after all and as such had no reason to be reassured by him, but all the same she was. Her new dorm was surprisingly nice, in a modern and clean building. It wasn't what Emma expected after the not-so-warm reception. She had a feeling that her fellow Aberrations that weren't 'exceptions' wouldn't be getting fancy housing like her's. Their guard left them with a warning of a curfew; Emma wouldn't have trouble following it, or at least didn't expect to. Now that they were alone she glanced at Lawrence and Hazel, a look of relief filling her face. The relief was intermingled with a hint of anxiety and worry, but it was there all the same. At the very least she was free now. The boy named Lawrence spoke up:

"So yeah, name's Lawrence. Sorry that your powers manifested, but now you're here and we'll be living together. I don't really know what your powers are but please if you're going to blow the place up make sure to do it when I'm out, or at least when I'm awake. My own alarm is bad enough."

Hazel, her other roommate, merely nodded. Emma did the same, but her nod spoke more to meekness than what seemed to be Hazel's apathy. Emma didn't exactly feel talkative after today's events, but all the same she resolved to speak out of a sense of politeness. After a small awkward silence she cleared her throat.

"I'm Emma, but I guess you know that already... it's nice to meet you Lawrence," She glanced at the other girl, "And you too Hazel. I'm sorry if we're intruding Lawrence, but I hope we can get along..." Emma trailed off, but it was evident that she was done talking. As Lawrence opened the door he was greeted by a hungry stare. Emma let out a slight gasp of surprise at what was within: A very cute dog. Emma almost reached out to pet it but decided to abstain out of fear of being rude. Lawrence had a brief standoff with the animal before it ran off. Emma was fond of dogs, really of animals in general, and looked forward to properly meeting Lizzy.

For now Emma followed Lawrence inside his dorm. Emma supposed it was their dorm now, but all the same felt as if she was entering someone else's home. It was clean yet simple, surprisingly spacious given the nature of their school. Emma hoped it would feel like home soon, but for the time being yearned to return to her parent's home and her simple life. Lawrence spoke again, "You guys have had a longer day than I have, you can have first dibs on the shower tonight if you want. Fridge is pretty empty, but there's a pot of coffee if that's your thing, but I figure you'll want to be heading to sleep instead of staying up. Your welcome was... well, about the same as mine, it's probably better if you try to relax and not think about it too much."

Emma glanced at the coffee pot but decided against it. She would need to sleep soon, but for now wasn't content with staying in the dorm. She wanted to be by herself, or more accurately she wanted to escape. Not escape from USARILN but from her roommates. Hazel was quick to take a bed and sleep. Emma eyed the contents of the space that had now been designated hers- a collection of objects and papers. She smiled at Lawrence, although it was an awkward shy smile, "Thank you Lawrence, but... I just got here so I'm going to collect my stuff, then I'd like to take a look around campus, alright? I'll be back before curfew." She went to her desk and quickly looked through everything. She grabbed the map and folded it, placing it in her pocket. As for the exams and release forms... she decided they could wait for another time. She also grabbed her ID. $500? They certainly don't spare any expense for new students...

She instinctively reached for her wallet to place the card into, but of course she didn't have it. Or did she? She eyed the duffel bag on the foot of her bed, and then strode over to open it. Her suspicions had been confirmed, finding what had been on her when she had been taken prisoner. There wasn't much- her cell phone and her wallet, but that was it. They hadn't bothered to grab her clothes, of course... she'd have to spend some of her money shopping. Maybe she'd ask Hazel if she wanted to go with her? The girl didn't exactly seem overly friendly, but maybe Emma was wrong about that. For now she opened her wallet- there wasn't much inside it. She didn't have a credit card or anything to that effect- only her old student ID and some pocket change which totaled $12. She pulled out her old ID card. She decided to hang onto it, if not for anything other than a sense of nostalgia, placing it on the desk. It was odd for her to be nostalgic about a life she had been leading up until only a few days ago, but all the same it felt like it had been an eternity since she was really normal. She replaced the old ID with her new one- the one that marked her as a mage and USARILN student. With her belongings in order she turned back to the door and gave Lawrence a slight nod before leaving.

She hovered in the hallway for a moment- she wasn't sure where she wanted to go, but she certainly knew she wanted to be alone. Her neighbors seemed to have already settled in, not that she was particularly worried about them. Emma, for now, was content to wander. She meandered aimlessly down the paths around the dorm building until she found a lonely bench illuminated by the lamp of a streetlight. She took a seat and then glanced around her- she was alone, or at the very least seemed to be. She let out a deep sigh, and finally allowed tears to slide down her cheeks. She knew that she was in a fucked up situation, and that knowledge had only been made worse by her stigma, which had been practically screaming in her brain since she had left the dorm. She reached for the phone in her pocket, turning it on and verifying that it still worked. Things had gotten a little rough when USARILN had grabbed her, but it appeared to still be perfectly functional. Before she unlocked it she glanced at her notifications. She had received 264 texts since she last opened it. A plethora of friends and family had been metaphorically blowing her up in a worried confusion- word had spread, it appeared, that she was a subnatural and had been taken in by the government.

She opened up her messages and glanced over them, but didn't take the time to respond to any of them- she didn't feel like it was appropriate to worry about her old friends. She was a student of USARILN now and she knew that she likely would never see them again. Instead Emma sent a message to her sister, Valentine.

Hey, Val... I just got out of our 'orientation' and into our dorms. Things are crazy here. I think they're monitoring this. Call me asap. Love you.

Emma waited for the next several hours. She alternated between worry and despair, and cried at least 4 times. She continually glanced at her phone, but there was nothing. Nothing from Ves at least; curious friends and acquaintances continued to spam her for information on what was happening. Knowing them this was going to turn into some huge story that people would gossip about, but she didn't have it in her care. At least she had wanted to believe she didn't care, but her stigma continually reminded her that she really did. She glanced at her phone again; it was nearly curfew. She would need to get back to her dorm. After a short walk she found herself back inside the building, but decided to stop by a bathroom before going to her room. She didn't need to use it, but had suspected that she looked like a mess. She glanced in the mirror, confirming her suspicions. Her mascara was running, and probably has been for some time. She found a napkin and wiped it away. Her face was puffy and red; it was clear that she had been crying. She splashed her face with water but wasn't quite satisfied with the results. All the same curfew was nearing and she had to return to her dorm, quickly turning away from herself and heading out the door.

She slowly opened the door, creeping in quietly. She was intent on avoiding confrontation with her roommates. She headed to bed quickly, eager to finally sleep.

---

Emma woke up a little before 6- she was accustomed to being an early riser, even though it was contrary to her nature. She had always been a bit of an overachiever and had enrolled in early morning classes at her old school. She glanced around the room- Hazel was still asleep and so was Lawrence. Emma rose slowly before heading to the shower, trying her best to keep quiet as not to wake her roommates. She realized she didn't have a change of clothes- today she would have to start spending some of the money she had been granted. After locking the bathroom door she neatly folded her clothes and hopped in the shower. Once again she found herself in sweet solitude. She would've stayed in the shower longer than she needed if only for the fact that she didn't want to find angry roommates outside wondering what was taking so long. For the sake of brevity she avoided wallowing, turning off the shower and finding a towel. She quickly dried off then redressed- she felt a little gross, having not changed for a while, but endured it. She reemerged into the dorm to find her roommates still asleep. She quietly strode to her desk, examining the exams and forms.

For now she set aside the tests, choosing to focus on the requisition form. Emma eyed it curiously. I wonder what I can get away with... Up until now had been meek, but seeing how far the institute had gone to make them feel comfortable- the fancy room and the money- she decided she would test the system and see what she can get away with.

Emma's Requisition Form

In flowery and neat handwriting the girl asks for...
-Shampoo
-Conditioner
-An assorted smattering of makeup, brand names included. Her requests run the gamut; everything that a posh popular girl could possibly need to look fabulous
-An iPhone charger. as her phone was running quite low by now
-Quick, cheap junk food- Chips, an assorted list of different flavors of instant ramen, and candy.

Emma was satisfied for now. She hoped her requests wouldn't backfire- there was always the chance that an unhappy USARILN official would order her execution, a scenario that she didn't relish. She momentarily considered asking for a kitten- Emma had been fond of cute little cats, but she decided it best to find out how Lizzy would react to a feline companion first. She also shook away though of asking the institute for clothing. She was a teenage girl, and what teenage girl wanted other people to pick out their outfits?

It was by this time that Hazel had awoken. Emma glanced at her, "Good mor-" Before Emma could finish her sentence Hazel began stripping. Emma quickly turned away. Ohmygodwhat'swrongwithher was all she thought. Emma tried again, "Uh, uh, good m-morning Hazel..." She stammered out. She didn't look, but she assumed she received a nod in response. She heard a door behind her close and turned. Hazel was now in the bathroom. Emma was bright red, I hope Hazel isn't some kind of pervert... For now Emma had nothing to do, so she turned to the tests in front of her. They covered all traditional subjects; she wasn't too worried about it, having never found much difficulty in her old school's curriculum.

She began filling out the exam forms with relative ease. She'd been an advanced student, and there was little in the material that phased her. Partway through her test Hazel emerged from the bathroom... still nude. Seriouslywhyisthishappeningtome Emma did all she could to look away from the naked girl. She was trying her hardest to stay quiet, trying to justify Hazel's actions in her head. Maybe it's a cultural thing! Yeah, maybe that's just the way she was raised... I shouldn't judge, I should not judge... I need too... I need to try to be friends with her... I hardly even know her! I can't be rude...I'll just try to be polite!

"Uh... h-hey... Haaaaaaazel... do you think uh... could you maybe put some clothes on... p-please? Uh... perhaps we can go shopping together later, yeah? That would be fun, right?! I need to get new clothes, and I'm sure you need to get things too... like clothes for yourself... or other things too?" Emma said with a healthy amount of shyness and stammering, doing her very best to maintain her smile all the same.

OOC Note and Mentions

@GreenGoat @Snagglepuss89

Snaggle, I mentioned that Lawrence is still asleep. I figured it was best to go ahead and post since you said you'd be out for a while and used that as an excuse to not write about Lawrence instead of just being super vague. That's just temporary and whenever you get back on you can message me and I can totally edit the morning part to have Lawrence included.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Oh yeah @Kyrisse look at this cool thing @GreenGoat made



Emma and Lily slumber party time.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

Emma wasn't sure if things were going exactly or not at all as she had expected. She had no allusions that they'd be treated properly, there kind were feared by normal (For lack of a better word) people, and being chained up and shipped off seemed befitting considering the state of her and her new 'friends'- cellmates? Fellow prisoners? All the same she knew this would happen but at the same time didn't want to believe it. The erosion of subnatural rights over the years had been gradual (In some cases not so gradual) but certain. People want to contain what they fear, and they feared the subnaturals. But still, at heart Emma was an idealist... well, that's not exactly accurate. When it comes to herself she's certainly a pessimist, but she'd like to believe Humans are basically good- perhaps best described as an 'incidental idealist'? The point is that she would rather believe people would be unwilling to treat others the horrendous way Emma and her compatriots was being treated right now, but she was self-aware enough to know that this view was far too starry-eyed for reality. Fear can drive people into a fervent madness and make them do things they didn't think they would have the capacity to, and that has been happening on a worldwide scale for many years now.

Emma was drawn out of her own head when the convoy came to an unexpectedly sudden stop. She glanced around at her new 'classmates' (That's a euphemism, in this situation), and then towards the guards for answer. None came, of course. But if they were stopping she knew something must be up. They definitely were not there yet, given her surroundings. She would ask but she was sure that she would be told to 'shut up' in a very colorful by one of their captors; they weren't the sort to politely answer her questions, she was sure. And then, in the distance, Emma saw something. A pair of golden silhouettes across the night sky and then a laser flying into the distance towards some unknown target. It was unmistakable- she'd seen it on the news before. Precursors? Here? Why? There's no doubt about it- there's something out there, in the darkness. One of Dreamcatcher's creatures? Emma was content to watch for now, as long as whatever the Precursors were fighting left them alone. Through the walls of the strange see-through truck she began to see what they were fighting- they were strange creatures, like DC's, but... They're Menagerie's, aren't they? Why are Precursors fighting each other?

The trucks started moving again. They must've seen a way through the danger, because they left quickly.

After they arrived at the institute there was waiting, and more waiting, and after a little while even more waiting. They were gathered in a large containment cell. Emma was content to sit still for now, not that she had a choice. She would've tried to talk to the others but she was pretty sure they distinctly didn't want her to do that. After some time- I suppose punctuality isn't USARILN's speciality. Or are they waiting us out?- a women came into the room. She'd seen her on the news. She was Director Lina Zhang, lauded as one of the most capable people when it came to dealing with subnaturals. The news talked her up but Emma was sure she was more successful because of her Machiavellian ways than her personality or kindness. She went on her spiel- Emma was sure it had been practiced- full of veiled and not so veiled threats. When Zhang came to her 'proposal' Emma bristled. She didn't really know everyone in the room but she was sure that she didn't need to tell them how hopeless the situation is. Emma decided it best to stay quiet, lest she attract Miss Zhang's ire.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

@DiggertonAlready planting your flag, eh?

@Snagglepuss89

Just want to make sure Emma doesn't end up with Lincoln FUCKIN' Gilmore

Edit: Team Manic Depressives is amazing

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

If we end up splitting into teams for IC (Which I imagine we will for missions because, like, 15 players and counting) I want to see a sitcom centered around a team that consists of Lily, Emma, and Marcus.

—(••[ 𝕎𝕀𝕊ℍ𝔼𝔸𝕋𝔼ℝ ]••)—

You're

_{I'm sorry I wish I wasn't this way}

@Dragonmancer