Light the Signal New IC

[Wdwune]

Music Room

He turns to Orlando and nods, saying, "It's part of 'em, yeah. I can also pull guitars out of thin air, and also sorta hypnotize people with my music if I try to."

"Amazing!" Orlando replies.

"Ah, materialize an instrument," he says looking up. "The dream of every musician! Specially those who play the piano, the contrabass, the timpani (or the drum kit), the pipe organ, the tuba..."

He turns to Maria and Nanoha. "Um, I believe you two have some private stuff to talk about." He grabs his coat and sword before turning back to the newcomer. "Should we wait outside?"

[Mekboy]

Willow swaggered onto the field. Stupid practice. Like she needed practice messing with some idiot's head or glamering her way out of a sticky situation. Plus it was always cold out here.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Music Room

Maria was about to respond to Nanoha when Warren made his dramatic entrance. Seeing his over-the-top act caused her to degenerate into a fit of giggles for a few minutes. She recovers, however, and wipes her eyes then responds to Orlando first. "Nah, you don't have to leave. It's not private or anything." She turns slightly to face the other girl and responds to her. "You and I are roomies now, and you haven't checked in at the room. I figured I should track you down and see if you needed help getting settled or if you'd gotten lost or something." Maria has a distinct, but mellowed, Italian accent, as if she'd grown up there, but been in the States for several years, or, perhaps, as if she came from a family of Italians who kept the accent alive in their home. "I don't have super strength or anything like that, but I can still help carry normal amounts of luggage, if you need it. Plus it looks like there's a couple of strong guys here we could recruit into helping."

-----

Metaball pitch

(OOC: Garrett's thought processes included for Indira's benefit)

This guy is hopeless, Garrett thinks to himself. Which is a pity, since he'd probably be a good captain if he had any sort of self-confidence at all. Guess I should see who else might be good at it. But we gotta get this going. Can't wait for anyone else to step up...

"Right!" Garrett calls out. "Opening play. Diana, you take QB! John, you take her spot on the offensive line. Sayuri, you fill in John's spot as cornerback. Michael, running back. William, wide receiver, left side. Henry, you and Jeff take receiver and running back on the right. Michelle, fill in our empty defensive line spot. Bryn, I know it's not your shtick, but take my spot on defensive line so I can see how this goes. Let's move people. Indira, give us an obstacle course. 3D-- tunnels and stuff in the air and junk. Don't leave the field level either. This is a tryout, people, so let's see what you can do." He gives everyone about 30 seconds to get into place then calls out for Alfred to snap the ball, which he does with his usual basic play of lofting it straight up and having one of his sprites-- a green imp, looking something like Yoda if Yoda had no ears and 4 arms-- lob it back to Diana.

(OOC: I'll let Space Lawyer mostly determine what the field does in response to the players. Initiative is basically going to go in the order of whoever posts first. This is mostly to give everyone a chance to get the feel for how a combat-based event will run. Feel free to have your player interact with the NPC ball players in whatever way seems appropriate as well. I'll fill in details and NPC movements/actions as I feel they're needed to keep the flow going.)

[Anyr]

One by one, the various players drifted onto the field: Some more literally than others. If Rebecca seemed taller than usual, it was because her feet weren't touching the floor. Metaball practice was one of the few occasions where she actually flew. The idea of hovering all the time had always felt pretentious to her. That's why (fun as it was to defy gravity) she tended to walk around campus. From her lofty position, she surveyed the new lineup. So many new faces! This was going to be an interesting session...

[Elderand]

William took his position on the field, while he lacks any formal training in any sport he crammed the content of about half a dozen football rugby and metaball rulebooks and manuals before showing up so he manages to take an adequate stance. He looks at the other players as he shift gears, cranking his super-speed as high as the bracelet will allow, the world doesn't crawl to a stop for him but it slow down enough that he won't be easily taken by surprise.

[Rhyvurg]

Herald flexes his fingers and takes his place in the line, smiling at whomever he's been pitted against.

[gremlin-pult]

"Oh dear..." Henry murmured, as he hesitantly took his place in the line up, his nervousness sky rocketing now that he seemed to be about to actually play, instead of just theorising about it. "I confess, I may be having second thoughts about this whole affair, Edward. I really do not think I am made for this sort of thing. Theory is one thing, but this..."

Chin up, bruther mine. It'll be fine. Worst tha' can 'appen is, ye muck up or get a bit 'urt. So jus' relax and let loose. I mean, we both know ye 'ave it in ye, 'owever deep it's buried.

"I do not know. Violent action is your area, not mine. As is decisive action, and physical action in general."

Oh fer the luv of.... Would ye fer once jus' shut up, let loose an' 'ave some fun?

"This is your idea of fun, not necessarily mine." Henry muttered, starting to get agitated from Edward's pestering.

....

... Ye know, it's tha' weak-arsed attitude tha' made Priscilla dump yer sorry arse an' jump straight inta me pants. Remember tha', bruther? Never saw 'er tha' happy when she wus with you...

Henry drew in a sharp breath, his thoughts stopping completely for a second. "How dare you..." He practically hissed in a low voice. "She was... You... You are not better than me!"

Well then. Prove it, pisspot.

His calm thoroughly disrupted by now, Henry focused on his immediate surroundings, forcing himself to remain outwardly composed. For now, all his uncertainty was gone.
Taking up the position of running back. Henry glanced over at Jeff. "Jeff, yes? I will need you to do the following: When the ball goes in play, I shall veer to the right, before using my telekinesis to push myself as far into the air as possible. You will catch me at the apex of my jump, and use that momentum to haul me bodily over the defending line." he whispered to the other boy.

Jeff gave Henry a blank look at first, confused by his certain tone.
"Uuh, sure. I can do that..." He said with a bit of hesitation.

"Good. When I am on the other side I will immediately move towards their end zone as best I can. You will follow me in the air, of to the side, not directly above me, but always within 50 feet. It is a gamble, but one that they will hopefuly not expect from me." Henry said, nodding with satisfaction.

And when the ball was snapped into play, Henry did exactly what he said he would, running to the side before pushing of the ground and forward with his power. Not enough lift to get him over the opposing players, but more than enough for Jeff to lift him the rest of the way.
Henry landed rather gracelessly behind the opposing line, but immediately got up and ran forward as fast as he could, noting Jeff keeping pace above. "Brain over brawn, just as I suspected." He said with satisfaction, as the surprised defenders had gaped for a second at the scrawny boy's flight before some of them followed. "Now let us hope that someone else breaks the line as well, and that Miss Diana can throw decently and far." He panted, already slightly winded, as he sent two quick surges of power towards the legs of Richard and Wrenn just as they turned around, marking them as greater threats at the moment than the other defenders. He succeeded in knocking Richard down before he could teleport, but sadly Wrenn was only staggered.
Henry kept a wary eye on his surroundings, while also making sure he could see if the ball was thrown in his direction.

[DoctorFaust]

Warren sticks his tongue out at Maria, and starts posing in what look like bodybuilder positions. "I may not look it," he says, mock grunting in effort. "But I do actually have superstrength. And I'm always happy to carry a cute girl's stuff for her."

[HopeHubris]

"What is a running back? What am I meant to be doing?" Michael says, as he moves into the indicated position, "I'm guessing it involves running, but I'm not quite sure past that"

[Elderand]

"Essentialy, if I'm understanding things correctly, if the quarterback" He indicates Diana "Pass you the ball, your goal is to make your way downfield as far as possible. Otherwise you help the linemen to block the opposite team to protect whoever has the ball at the time. Obviously the details change based on the called play but that's the gist of it."

[HopeHubris]

"Not sure how well I'd do at protecting anyone..." he says, trailing off, as he thinks about how his powers could help with his position.

[Wdwune]

Music Room

Maria was about to respond to Nanoha when Warren made his dramatic entrance. Seeing his over-the-top act caused her to degenerate into a fit of giggles for a few minutes. She recovers, however, and wipes her eyes then responds to Orlando first. "Nah, you don't have to leave. It's not private or anything." She turns slightly to face the other girl and responds to her. "You and I are roomies now, and you haven't checked in at the room. I figured I should track you down and see if you needed help getting settled or if you'd gotten lost or something." Maria has a distinct, but mellowed, Italian accent, as if she'd grown up there, but been in the States for several years, or, perhaps, as if she came from a family of Italians who kept the accent alive in their home. "I don't have super strength or anything like that, but I can still help carry normal amounts of luggage, if you need it. Plus it looks like there's a couple of strong guys here we could recruit into helping."

Warren sticks his tongue out at Maria, and starts posing in what look like bodybuilder positions. "I may not look it," he says, mock grunting in effort. "But I do actually have superstrength. And I'm always happy to carry a cute girl's stuff for her."

"No problem!" says Orlando enthusiastically as he puts his coat back on. "Let's help the ladies," he adds as he grabs the guitar, the tuner and the stand. "Just wait a minute, I'll return this stuff and I'll be back."

When he returns, he's only carrying his sword on his belt. "Done! Now, what should we start with?"

He kindly turns to the newcomer. "You must be quite a famous musician, but I still don't know your name, amigo."

Then he turns to Maria with a curious smile: "I can't help notice you're wearing a JSK patch as well. Which team are you in? Team Alpha or Team Bravo?"

[JNAProductions]

I don't really have much stuff to move in, Nanoha says, but thank you all for offering to help. And since we're going to be rooming together, Maria, want to tell me a little about yourself? I'll share after-or before, if you want.

[DoctorFaust]

"Hah! I wish," Warren replies, smiling easily. "I'm just a guy who likes playing the guitar. And...who got run over by a chick on a Vespa."

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

{OOC: Not waiting on Space Lawyer any longer. We'll go ahead and proceed}

Music Room

"Well, let's grab what you have, I guess, and I'll show you where our room is. Beyond that-- I'm happy to tell you anything you want to know, but it's probably better if you ask some questions. I'm not sure what you'd like to know about me, after all. Most people like to know what each others powers are so I can tell you that I can locate anything." To Orlando she adds, "Oh, I'm not in your Platoon. I'm in Delta platoon. And don't take Warren too seriously. He rarely is. A lot of fun at parties though." Maria leads them down the hall to where Nanoha's luggage (such as it is) is waiting.

----

Metaball pitch

Indira punches up some commands on her keypad and the field fills with walls, moving hurdles, ladders, tunnels, slides, and other obstacles. As the ball snaps and lands in Diana's hand, a cannon downfield fires a number of soccer-looking balls into the air to play havoc with the flyers. Jeff effortlessly dodges past the balls as he wings downfield into position to catch Henry. With Rebecca in the air, Bryn, who was paired opposite her in the lineup, starts to move towards Diana, before being buffeted from behind by a padded bar attached to a wheel that popped up in between the offensive and defensive line. This knocks her down, but not out, and she waits for an opportunity to get up without getting whacked in the head.

John's grin is matched, briefly, by Wren's, before the girl's face shifts from human to something more animalistic. Suddenly he finds himself face to face with a 500 lb gorilla who starts to push past him with relative ease. That is, until Henry's telekinesis hits her legs, and sends her toppling on top of John (OOC: You can still dodge out of the way). Alfred's sprite grabs one of the soccer balls out of the air and lobs it to Diana as well. She fakes a hand-off to Michael, by tossing the soccer ball to him, and mutters "Run with it" while waiting for one of her receivers to get open.

Thomas attempts to pull Rebecca out of the air by increasing gravity in her local area, although he's never tried it on the vampire before, and doesn't know what it'll do to her, so he doesn't hit her with a ton of gees, but enough to make her flight difficult.

Vera meanwhile, casts a spell, while Michelle attempts to wrap her arms around Simon, and hold him back, whose skin has taken on the dull metallic sheen of titanium. Jeff manages to let Henry drop just behind gorilla-Wren as Richard pops out of sight, making use of the obstacles to hide where he reappears.

[Mekboy]

The air around Willow shimmered, and two identical copies crystallised into existence. While one Willow stood back, examining her nails and occasionally biting them into shape with a bored look on her face, the other two started sprinting towards the nearest opponent. It seemed like the brawl was really getting started, and Willow wasn't going to miss an opportunity to get in a few low blows.

Anyone who could pierce the glamer would be able to see that the real Willow was one of the ones getting stuck in. Wasn't any fun if you didn't get your hands dirty.

[Rhyvurg]

(Move? It's only 500 pounds )

John hoists the off-balance monkey-girl off the ground with just one hand, and tosses her over the top of the nearest solid-looking obstacle. "That should keep you busy for a second or two." He looks around for the center of the action.

[Wdwune]

"Hah! I wish," Warren replies, smiling easily. "I'm just a guy who likes playing the guitar. And...who got run over by a chick on a Vespa."

"Most people like to know what each others powers are so I can tell you that I can locate anything." To Orlando she adds, "Oh, I'm not in your Platoon. I'm in Delta platoon. And don't take Warren too seriously. He rarely is. A lot of fun at parties though."

"Warren, huh?" Orlando replies with a smirk, then he shrugs as he turns to the guitarist. "Once again, nice to meet you, Warren. I guess I can understand why you want to keep a low profile, since some rockstars use artistic names instead of their own, so it's fine I think. And I'd like to hear the Vespa story!"

He turns to Maria. "You can locate anything? That's impressive! A professional tracker. However, you should take care; there are lots of bad guys out there who might seek to use you, or worse..."

He interrupts himself. "But...! You don't have to worry, as long as Nanoha-chan's your roomie," he gives a smile to Nanoha. "She has a set of useful abilities that turn her into someone even I don't want to confront on the battlefield."

He turns back to Maria. "By the way, you have a beautiful name."

[Elderand]

William's role on the team was simple, run, get open or possibly block for the running back if he had the balla nd came running on his side. How to achieve said role was tricker, especially with the crazy amount of obstacles on the way, if his fast reaction speed didn't seem to slow time down he might have been overwhelmed by all the happenings on the field, that explained why teams had calls for play, cut down on the amount of info to take in.

The opposition couldn't know how fast he might be going, indeed, he wasn't sure either, better keep it a little slow to lure them into a false sense of security. So when the play started he started running at about 60 miles an hour, snail pace and looked for an opening to slip through.

[DoctorFaust]

"Hey, I resent that. I did join the JST, after all," Warren mutters as they walk down the hallway to Nanoha's luggage. "And I'd happily tell it to you, soon as we got some free time. Hell, I still don't know who my roommate is this year, so maybe you'll be it."

He turns to Nanoha, and asks, "By the way, what are your powers? I dunno if you told Maria and Orlando while I wasn't around, but I'm curious what a cute girl like yourself can do."

[HopeHubris]

Michael catches the ball with a feeble "Okay" before running off, trying to take extra-dimensional shortcuts wherever possible, to both confuse anyone chasing him (and avoid getting squished), as well as using the distortions to make it less obvious that he doesn't have the proper ball.

[Anyr]

Rebecca suddenly felt herself losing altitude. It didn't take her long to realise why. She was briefly tempted to try and resist Thomas' powers with pure force: To see which of them was the stronger. But that would just have been pointless posturing. It was much more sensible to flow around him. So instead of trying to stay where she was, she moved rapidly sideways. Gravity was only being increased in one specific part of the field. If she got outside Thomas' reach, then she'd (hopefully) be free of it.

[gremlin-pult]

Henry quickly concluded that looking back at the line of players had been a mistake. He came to this conclusion right after the conclusion that collision with one of the hurdles that had appeared on the field was a thoroughly unpleasant experience.
"Ugh..." He muttered as he picked himself of the ground, keenly aware of the throbbing in his by now undoubtedly scraped arms and knees. "This will most definitely develop into acute soreness later on..." He mused, dusting himself of, happy that at least it was nothing serious.
Instead of moving on up the field immediately, however Henry took a moment to look over the line, instantly making two observations with a sinking feeling:

One, he was undoubtedly the weakest on the field in terms of both power and versatility. Going toe to toe with any of the defenders was out of the question.

Two, both the defending and attacking side was, to his eyes, in complete disarray. There was very little semblance of teamwork, which was not unusual, considering there was little to no experience in playing as a team yet.

Henry concluded that he would have to use his head, and see if he could whip up a quick tactic. His powers would not be what showed his worth in this instance.

Henry took another glance of the players, then quckly used his power to grab three of the soccer-ball like projectiles out of the air as they came within his range. He set them to soar in lazy circles around him as he took stock of the situation. "Miss Rebecca, please move across the field toward Jeff at your first chance." He yelled to the vampire currently struggling with gravity, simultaniously sending one of the soccer balls careening straight toward Thomas. If nothing else it might disrupt his concentration.
"Miss Willow, please use your powers more. The more distracting to your foes, the better. John, keep as many of the defenders occupied as you can, and use your power to clear a path for Miss Diane." He continued. He briefly hoped that he wasn't coming of as rude, since he was more or less ordering his teammates around. He quickly pushed down that line of thought, knowing that he could not afford to prove Edward right by losing his focus now. he would have to apologize to the others after the test.
"Miss Diane, please send the ball into play when you see the chance. More than one receiver will be free, if possible, either fast or flying. William, please speed up if you can. Kick up as much dirt and dust as possible close to the defending line, while simultaneously moving toward their end zone. Michael, towards the end zone as well, please. Pressure and misdirection is the key, everyone!"'
Henry was not at all happy that he had to yell his instructions like that, for the defenders to hear. But it was inevitable, since the attackers had no trained plays or codewords yet. As many and as confusing plays as possible would have to suffice, he thought, as he sent another soccer ball towards Thomas. The last one he shot at Bryn, not wanting her to get too close to Diane. He made sure that the balls flew fast enough to smart if they hit, but not hard enough to cause any real damage.

[Wdwune]

"Hey, I resent that. I did join the JST, after all," Warren mutters as they walk down the hallway to Nanoha's luggage. "And I'd happily tell it to you, soon as we got some free time. Hell, I still don't know who my roommate is this year, so maybe you'll be it."

"Who knows," replies Orlando with a smile and a shrug, "it could be perfectly possible for two guitarists to be in the same room. Or for one pro-guitarist -you- and an amateur -me-. It would be fun, yes."

"Oh, and you are on the JSK as well? Which squad? You would be useful in Team Bravo."

[JNAProductions]

Here it is! she says as the group arrives at the small pile of luggage. So who wants to be chivalrous and take it for me? Nanoha says, batting her eyelashes innocently before breaking down into giggles. Couldn't say that with that face seriously.

[darklink_shadow]

Sayuri stepped out onto the field after the first play. "That was a mess... I didn't even realize we were starting until a bit after you had begun. This time, however, I will be ready. Henry appears to be leading the offense. Does the defense have a leader?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Sorry about the brief period of inactivity. I can't post as easily right now as I am on vacation with limited internet. And when I return to work I will be posting mostly only at night, plus one or two times during the day.

Spoiler: Questions about Metaball.

Show

Is there a limit to the number of allied insects I can bring onto the field? And is it acceptable to damage the field? And is it acceptable to paralyze the players temporarily with carefully cultivated neurotoxins? What about just injuries in general? Can I have them get bitten by bullet ants? Or Bull ants? Can the defenders attack the offense only when that player is in possession of the ball? Can the offense attack the defense?

[DoctorFaust]

After taking a moment to glance at Maria and Orlando to see if they're going to move first, Warren shrugs and scoops up some of the bags. "I will, I guess. And I think I'm on Bravo. Doubt I'm powerful enough to be on Alpha."

[Anyr]

Rebecca hesitated for a moment. Since when was Henry calling the shots? But then, it wasn't as if anyone else was doing that. So hey, go with the flow. Having finally managed to free herself from Thomas' swamp of heaviness, she shot across the field at top speed: Which admittedly wasn't very fast. Rebecca was a bruiser, not a speedster. As instructed, she headed straight for Jeff.

[Elderand]

If Henry wanted distractions he'd get distraction. William sped up and easily sidestepped his opponent, after all, going slow had been done merely to instil a sense of security. At the same time he started spining his right arm toward the defensive line creating gust of winds. While the limiter prevented it from turning into an outright tornado it was kicking enough dust to be midly annoying.

[Wdwune]

Here it is! she says as the group arrives at the small pile of luggage. So who wants to be chivalrous and take it for me? Nanoha says, batting her eyelashes innocently before breaking down into giggles. Couldn't say that with that face seriously.

"Alright! Time for some workout." Orlando says as he takes a look at Nanoha's luggage. "Let's see... I'll take these two boxes which appear to have books, if no one minds."

He carefully piles two boxes on the floor, concentrates briefly and lifts them both with no problem (using the legs, not the back). "Alright Maria, lead the way if you please..." he adds gently.

"I will, I guess. And I think I'm on Bravo. Doubt I'm powerful enough to be on Alpha."

"Squad Bravo? That's great!" says Orlando with obvious enthusiasm. "Diana assigned me to be the leader of that squad, which means we're working together!"

"Let me tell you that Nanoha here is on the squad as well," he adds. "There's also a bunch of talented people aboard; like Willow the magical girl, or John (also known as Herald, who's apparently good at many things). Also Henry and Edward will be part of it as well (do you know them? They are like two telekinetic guys in one body, really awesome), as will be Ellen (the werewolf chick), Richard (the teleporter, remember him?), Indira (the telepathic girl), Alice (she's sort of strange, but cute, you'll like her) and Sayuri (a girl that can control bees)."

"With you that make us..." he starts counting in his mind, "...Eleven knights (or twelve if you count Henry and Edward as two separate entities). More than enough for a mission in a wide range."

"Your abilities are versatile, so in case of a battle you can use your music to support from the back of the formation, or your strength to contribute on the front lines. Our patrol starts this weekend at 6 pm and will last until midnight, so I hope you're ready," he gives Warren a conforting smile.