Garn Solozari

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

Lucas stood beside Quiet-girl watching Captain Subtlety add destruction of property to the list of charges the BSI jerks would be using to hold them. Honestly, he wasn’t even bothered by her blunder so much as he was exasperated by the day, a sentiment she clearly shared. He heard the frightened little beeps his watch chimed out while they watched her take out her frustration on the poor car.

Internally he hoped this was their cruel gym teacher’s car.

He walked over to the vehicle and found that she had successfully opened the door, even if the damage made the hinges difficult to move. After getting the door open wide enough he slid into the driver’s seat. His eyes briefly flashed as he scanned over the interior, his mind flashing with an understanding of the make and model, down to the parts required to build it. Most of the information was the same as usual, so he focused on the important bits. With only a little pulse of his cursed powers the alarm was blissfully silent.

He hopped out of the car and heaved a small sigh, his shaky fingers busying themselves with adjusting his glasses, “Before all the kings horses and men in black storm the lot, we should probably pick another one, sans holes.” He nudged the debris that had been a door handle, “..and with working door mechanisms.”

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

<Snipped quote by Laser Kiwi>

Yeah, you know the dumbass who went back in after he escaped.....me. 😲

@Kenshi

Dumbass? Or legend? (Both?)

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

Things are all still developing, especially the pace and rhythm. No worries. :D @Eviledd1984

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

As his feet touched the rough carpeted floor beside his companions he tried to deny internally how embarrassing it was to be handled like a toddler by a teen girl.

‘Come now Luke, this isn’t really the time to let your chauvinistic tendencies get the better of you.’

He readjusted his bag over his shoulder and in doing so caught the faint beeping coming from his watch. The little bugger had been getting a bit too snippy so he’d started ignoring it while they traveled the air ducts. He didn’t respond vocally, God knew he didn’t want to come off as some kind of crazy person in the middle of their crisis. Looking around the door, which was primarily used by staff, he took notice of the security panel. It was with a heavy heart that he noted this was a model he had already been... acquainted with.

While the others were keeping their eyes and ears open for trouble, he slipped over to the panel, popped off the cover, and casually ripped two of the half dozen wires that connected the silent alarm to the power source. He popped the cover back in place almost as an after thought,

“That should save us the trouble of alerting the entire building... and any cops they have watching the place too.”

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

Lucas glanced from Quiet-girl to the exit she’d indicated. There was a scent of tainted fresh air that normally accompanied the area around the school’s parking lots. He eyed Cellphone-girl and hoped that her strength could force open the vent quietly; the need for subtlety during their escape so far having been flagrantly ignored not instilling him with much confidence.

Not for the first time he wished he had his old tool-kit with him. He’d put the thing away in one of the deepest, darkest corners of his room. It brought back memories that he would rather forget, memories of building things in dark rooms for a man with a mocking smile and cold laugh. With a small jerk Lucas shook the visions from his head. Now wasn’t the time to lose focus. He gave the two young women a silent nod to show his approval of the next step in their plans.

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

Not for nothing, seeing a teenager shapeshifting in front of his eyes was quite the, err, eye opener. He heard the little comment made by Cellphone-girl after the guy had gone full-on kodiak on the agents below. Quite the snarky one. The tittering little beeps issuing quietly from his watch let him know that someone liked their pseudo-leader. Quiet-girl had worried him for a moment when he saw her pained grimace, but seeing it pass set his nerves straight.

Having seen the brief patronizing looks thrown his way when he’d volunteered to get their getaway car running he decided against speaking any further for the time being. These people didn’t know him, nor what he was capable of, and as Theo had taught him early during his habitation with the Jackson’s: actions speak clearer than words. Besides, the likelihood of his continued association with the other teens after their escape was even less likely than their escape plan actually succeeding.

As if to punctuate those thoughts the sounds of battle behind them suddenly grew much too quiet. He hoped the guy had shifted into something to slip away, but he had a bad feeling these agents were prepared for just about anything.

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

As luck would have it, pressing one’s ear against a door which had lost its locking mechanism was foolish. It was some grace of god which allowed Lucas not to fall flat on the floor. He wouldn’t be admitting to anyone that he may have windmilled his arms a few rotations in his haste to maintain balance. Thankfully no one was around to witness it...

No one was around...?

At that moment a delicate hand shot down from a conspicuous hole above him starling him with its suddenness. Giving a quick look around the empty room, and hearing the distant sounds of movement in the building growing closer, he threw caution to the wind and hopped up on a desk so his shorter body could reach the hand up. Thankfully he wasn’t much of a weighty kid, so he was up and surrounded by a gaggle of upperclassmen in no time. The social hierarchy being what it was he didn’t know any of them, but having been a wall flower at lunch most days he was at least aware of them.

The male he knew was supposed to be very popular. Rumor had it he was also filthy, stinking rich, but those comments had always been spoken by people with tones of jealousy. Of the two young women he was much less familiar. The one shifting around uncomfortably in the dark ventilation shaft was one of the more vocal protestors of the school’s cellphone policy. Seeing the lit phone in her hand made the corner of his lips twitch. When his eyes scanned the girl who’d helped him up he couldn’t help but notice the headphones she wore. His eyes briefly flashed an electric blue before he slapped a hand over them.

‘Well done, little Freak, you’ve never been able to help yourself...’

After a moment to collect himself Lucas glanced at Cellphone-girl with a small frown. Now wasn’t the time for his insecurities. He took a deep breath, glanced around at everyone else, and then put up a reluctant hand,

“If no one else can, I should be able to handle it.”

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

@Laser Kiwi Hopefully the route I took was acceptable, if not we can work it out. :)

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

‘Looks like the jig is up, Luke.’

Those were the thoughts of Freshman Lucas Ross as he stared apathetically out the window of his Algebra classroom. He thought briefly of his foster parents and how disappointed they would be that he’d likely be missing Chili night. He remembered Amaretta painstakingly peeling countless beans from the fresh food market she often dragged him to on Sundays after church. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but her sad face bothered him more than his impending incarceration.

‘That’s obvious. Being locked up is exactly where you belong.’

There were those harsh words echoing in his mind as they always seemed wont to do. He hated how they sounded so much like him. He much preferred the gentle tones of Theo, the kind man who encouraged him to open up and feel. Those reassurances that he was not, in fact, a Freak almost made him believe it. Almost, but not quite.

A series of soft beeps sounding from his wrist brought his eyes down to a dully glowing screen. There, he found an old touch-screen that displayed a swirling blue mist that, to most, would seem a simple animation. He knew better.

“I know, I’ll miss them too.”

Another round of beeps sounded out, this time giving off the distinct impression of an inquiry. Lucas rolled his eyes before glancing back at the window. The suited agents were closing up most points of exit from the grounds.

“Not exactly an option now, is it? I wouldn’t make it half a step out the door.” His voice was heavy with defeat.

‘They’re finally going to get you, robot boy.’

Beeping, this time furious and indignant, drowned out the sinister words feeding his doubts. The diatribe was so fierce that Lucas began to sweat under his collar. He lifted his free hand as if to ward off an advancing predator while simultaneously moving his watch away from him, though he quickly stopped when the beeps became even more erratic. He finally spoke up to try and put an end to the madness.

“Okay, okay, I won’t just give up. That being said...” He eyed the various, very clearly armed, agents with a critical eye, “... I may be open to ideas on how not to do that.”

With deft movements he emptied his bag of all non-essentials - text books, ream of paper, the annoyingly cumbersome student handbook - and set about leaving the, now empty, classroom. The halls were eerily silent save for the soft beeping of his little companion. He wondered briefly if he shouldn’t just find a bolt hole and hide, but he knew that his name in the roster would arouse suspicion due to his absence in the gymnasium. His musings were halted when he heard an odd sound, something like metal being broken by a sharp impact, and he crept close enough to the nearest corner to spy a nearby door just swinging shut.

‘Isn’t that the upper year English classroom?’ He thought back to orientation when the tour guide, a boisterous alumni named Appleby, had waxed poetic about his years wandering these halls.

With clumsy stealth he made his way over to the room in question and pressed an ear to the solid wood, catching just the last few words of a startled question.

Gifted Freaks - Teenagers with Powers

@Kenshi Something about the picture and accompanying note had me laughing. Dying of laughter?