Light the Signal New IC

[darklink_shadow]

"You mean after your practice? Sure! What do you have in mind?"

"I don't know. I just feel very strongly that I should go do something exciting. We could rock climb. Or perform experiments. Or find criminals to bring to justice."

Sayuri saw the speedster fall into the bleachers and winced, but when he got up, she grinned again. "Or we could eat. Have you ever seen a Swarm of wasps devour a whole pie? Or a legion of ants dismantle a hamburger? It's fun to see."

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Thomas approaches William and Rebecca, and holds out a hand to William in apology. "Sorry, thought you could like, run up walls 'n' stuff."

[Anyr]

William nodded

"Big juicy bloody steak or roastbeef with fries and salad." Evidently he wasn't quite back at full capacity or he wouldn't have mentionned the word bloody, if only out of politness.

As it was his stomach rumbled again and he looked embarrassed.

"I should go to the cafeteria, I'll get better faster if I have something in me."

"Then I guess this is where we part ways; Until tonight, that is. I'm really looking forward to it!"

And she really was. Once William departed, Rebecca strolled off to meet up with Bryn. For some reason, she suddenly felt really thirsty...

[Elderand]

Thomas approaches William and Rebecca, and holds out a hand to William in apology. "Sorry, thought you could like, run up walls 'n' stuff."

William shook his head, which was a mistake and grabbed the other boys hand "Common mistake, haven't figured that one out yet"

"Then I guess this is where we part ways; Until tonight, that is. I'm really looking forward to it!"

"I'm looking forward to it too."

And with that he started making his way toward the cafeteria, maybe they'll have pancakes, a couple hundred of them would be good.

[DoctorFaust]

Warren grabs the strings with his left hand, quickly muting the music, and then takes Henry's hand. "And I'm Warren Valenko, at yours. And that, my friend, was the power of rock. Or maybe positivity. Or maybe it's the alien egg growing inside my skull, threatening to burst out messily at any point. Honestly, I don't know how I do it, if I think about making my music do stuff, it does."

[Wdwune]

Orlando smiles after the introductions of both Henry and Warren are done, and decides to put the final diplomatic touch. "Ah, it's a good thing you start getting to know each other! Henry, meet Warren, Squad Bravo's new support member of the JKL, a talented musician, and very skilled at starting parties," he says with a smirk. "Warren, this is Henry, resourceful chemist and keeper of lots of knowledge."

[gremlin-pult]

"Hah, well now, I wouldn't go as far as keeper of knowledge..." Henry said, blushing and scratching his head awkwardly, but smiling nonetheless. "My brother and I dabble in various subjects, that is all. But your musical ability truly is fascinating. While my own forays into lyrical pursuits have led me to the study of how melody alters the Braun chemistry, and thus the mood, of the listener, I never dreamed the effect could be so pronounced. The interaction between abnormal abilities and the physical world never ceases to amaze and inspire me."

Oy, this again... Lissen, iffen yer goin' to be starten' the sound experiments back up, I want the old schedule where I got time fer me own pursuits, aye?

"Yes yes, Edward, of course. It was just a thought. Nothing set in stone." Henry responded airily. He looked at Warren's guitar with fascination. "Say, is your guitar the only instrument you can produce this effect with, or is it possible with others? And is thinking the desiree effect enough with any melody, or is different tunes required for different effects?"

[DoctorFaust]

"Uh, to be honest, I haven't really done any testing about that sorta stuff," Warren replies apologetically. "I've always just played whatever I think is appropriate for the stuff I'm trying to do and I only know how to play the guitar. But, ah, is 'Edward' an actual person, or he just a voice inside your head that councils you and understands?"

[gremlin-pult]

"Uh, to be honest, I haven't really done any testing about that sorta stuff," Warren replies apologetically. "I've always just played whatever I think is appropriate for the stuff I'm trying to do and I only know how to play the guitar. But, ah, is 'Edward' an actual person, or he just a voice inside your head that councils you and understands?"

"Oh, he is very real. He simply is not the one in control at the moment. So, right now he is a voice in my head. Although "Council" is a very, ah... Broad statement for what he usually does." Henry answered with a shrug.

Oh, stabs at the one what can't defend 'imself, issit? I'll remember tha', Bruther mine.

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Saturday

4 days had passed since the metaball try-outs, in typical high school fashion-- or at least as typical as is possible for a high school full of super-powered individuals. The news continued to have reports of Free Void bombings and graffitti, although reports from the Star Knight liaisons at the school downplayed the seriousness of most of the events. Those signed up for the JSK had daily training sessions, learning at least enough information to keep themselves from being completely inept at basic combat, should the need arise.

William's life had gotten rather more interesting in the past few days, between a budding relationship with Rebecca, and a request from Garrett that he agree to be the captain of the team. Garrett had also asked Henry to meet with the players one-on-one and go over their abilities in some detail and put together some tactics and game plans to go over together with William-- or whoever becomes captain, if William turns the offer down.

Over the course of the past few days, Nanoha and ALICE had both been 'reassigned' to the same JSK unit as Maria, so neither one was at the training sessions for Diana's platoon. Diana had put in a request to have Orlando's squad form up at 5PM and be ready to go Saturday.

(OOC: Those who are on the squad, please post what you're bringing with you as you gear up and arrive)

Meanwhile, that evening, Bryn had spent a good amount of time picking out a suitable outfit for attempting to trail along behind her friends and hopefully help keep them out of trouble. About the same time that Orlando's squad is forming up, she knocks on Rebecca's door, the sword her brother sent her, strapped to one leg.

(OOC: For those who aren't on the squad, you can post whatever you are doing, and we'll keep you occupied in the meantime. This is also a sort of roll-call post to help me find out if we've lost anyone else recently)

[Anyr]

Rebecca's door soon opened to reveal...nothing. The room beyond was pitch black. After a few sounds of last second scrabbling, Rebecca herself emerged from the darkness.

"Is it time already? Sorry, I lost track. Let's do this!"

Despite her casual words, one look at the Vampire would reveal just how seriously she took this trip: She was actually wearing dark clothes. Normally, Rebecca wouldn't be seen dead (I.E, at all) in anything from that end of the spectrum.

[Wdwune]

The other four days...

Orlando is gladly surprised to learn that William and Rebecca are now in a relationship. He smiles inside remembering how he observed (back in the cafeteria) they both would indeed make a nice couple. He wishes the best for them.

During the four days, he has the promised private training session with Alice at the dojo, where he learns some useful sword, defense and unarmed combat maneuvers from her. In return, Orlando asks Nanoha her help in teaching Alice the basics of emotions in music as agreed back in the cafeteria some days ago. Orlando gladly accepts Warren's help if the latter wants to colaborate in showing Alice what the power of music is.

After learning both Alice and Nanoha are being transferred to Maria's squad, Orlando accepts the decision of his superiors. After all, even if they will no longer be part of the same JKL squad, he's sure they will meet again, in class or probably another jam session.

During the remaining training sessions, Orlando thinks about many possibilities of patrolling formations for the now smaller Squad Bravo. The possibility of no longer include Nanoha as long-range specialist or Alice as operation analyst is a tough call, but on the other hand, less members means more stealth options. Also, he learns from John the best way to defend against guns and other ranged attacks.

He considers the situation of the squad: Most of the members have mid-range powers, while others excel at either long or close range. Warren's songs are an excellent mid-range support, but his super strength makes him ideal for close range combat. Willow's illusions are helpful at mid-range, but their mind-control abilities probably require the target to understand her words (he thinks). John is versatile; he can exceed at both close and ranged combat, as well as stealth and mid-range telekinesis. Ellen is perfect for close combat. Richard is clearly a mid-range type, which can use his teleportation abilities to support any side of the formation, or infiltration. Sayuri is another versatile squadmate; she could control her bugs in many creative ways, and most of her uses are from close to mid-range, specially her poisonous touch, which can be decisive in a close-range battle. Indira's telepathic abilities can be useful for both communications and information gathering. Henry and Edward are a particular case; Henry's telekinesis can aid in mid-range, and Edward's biokinesis can be really useful in close range; but either way, they're both excellent analysts.

He makes sure that he knows how the general abilities of each one of his teammates work to avoid confusion and later complications. In return, they all learn more or less how most of Orlando's abilities work: Apart from his kinetic touch abilities, they learn that Orlando is immune to attacks that affect his mind, emotions, spirit and so on, but he can willingly lower the barrier so that friendly powers can affect him. They also learn that he has a sort of blindsight ability that extends from his position to 3 meters in a normal situation, or up to 30 meters if he concentrates. Both powers are always active, unless Orlando decides to deactivate them. Orlando also adds that he can combine his various basic techniques to create other sword maneuvers (offensive or defensive), making clear that he's a close-range battle type, which can lean towards mid-range in certain situations.

---

Saturday

Once saturday arrives, Orlando takes his katana (Meiyo) with him, a combat knife, and a dartgun (with some clips of tranquilizer darts). As for an outfit, he decides to wear his usual elegant, sober clothes; black pants and shoes, deep blue shirt, fingerless black leather gloves, and a dark brown coat which is mainly used to cover the weapons on his belt. He politely makes sure everyone arrives in time at the squad meeting, personally organizing everything so that everyone is formed at 4:55 pm at most.

"Squad Bravo reporting for duty, platoon captain," he says to Diana with a respectful short bow once everyone is assembled.

[DoctorFaust]

Warren, standing by in black cargo pants, a black turtle neck, a black domino mask, and a black bolero hat, gives Orlando a nod of greeting as he walks in. After doing one last quick check of the contents of his pants, turns to Diana and says, "El Mariachi Loco is ready to go, Captain."

Spoiler

Show

Currently carrying some basic first aid supplies like bandages, cold spray, and burn spray, a 1m instrument cable, and a set of miniature speakers.

[Mekboy]

With lots of nagging from her roommate, Willow actually turned up on time for once. She'd come armed too, a bronze short sword hanging at her side. Against her roommate's best advice she was wearing a white dress, although in a vague flirtation with practicality she'd opted for boots over lighter footwear. Her usual hairband was gone, and her waist length hair was now tightly bound into two braids down her back.

Striking a mocking salute, she grinned.

"Ready tah go, sah!"

Spoiler: Rough idea of outfit

Show

Spoiler: Stuff carried

Show

Bronze short sword, nothing else. Willow is not a practical individual.

[Rhyvurg]

Paragon joins the group, wearing a digitally designed grid outfit that easily fades into urban shadows, bulked out with kevlar. Strapped to his right leg is a sawed off shotgun, with shells on his belt above it. On his belt opposite the gun is a tazer, gas grenades, smoke bombs, and a throwing bolo. A foot long metal pole at the small of his back has no apparent purpose, but by far the most striking part of his kit is the gigantic anti-material rifle on his back, the silencer on the barrel nearly touching the floor, and a bandolier of ammo across his chest.

[gremlin-pult]

As the days went by, Henry and Edward kept themselves busy with various projects. Edward, much to Henry's surprise, opted out of partying and chasing girls to focus on their experiments. When prodded about it, he revealed that he wanted to be ready for the patrol, which he intended to have great fun with.
Henry on the other hand, grew more and more frustrated as time passed. He'd not gathered the courage to apologize to Sayuri yet, and the mixture he wanted to give her had taken more time to create than estimated.
Add to that the pressure of trying to make some good tactics for the meta-ball team, and that he'd had no chance to speak with Nanoha since the first day, and he became an unhappy camper indeed.

He showed up at the meeting with renewed determination, however. He had switched his normal white shirt for a black, but otherwise identical, one and wore a wide belt with a multitude of little bags. It also held his dart gun, and several color coded dart clips. Completing his outfit was a pair of extra thick plastic gloves that reached his elbows, a pair of protective goggles hanging around his neck, and a long dark Grey Leather trench coat.
"Good evening, everyone. Orlando, I would like to inform you that Edward and I have decided that he shall be the one in control on tonights patrol. We agree on the fact that the one with enhanced healing capabilities is best suited for our first outing. I will of course be available should it become necessary. So we will Trade places in a moment. I just have one thing to do first." He said, giving each of his Fellow students a friendly nod in turn. He then took a deep breath, and walked over to Sayuri. With a remarkable display of willpower he looked her in the eye, and manager to speak without stuttering.
"Miss Kim, I would like to express my deepest and sincerest apologies. My behaviour over the last few days has been inexcusable. Not only did I meddle in your private conversation at the meta-ball field, I did so with ill thought out input and a complete lack of empathy and tact. And to make matters worse I lacked the courage to apologize, instead making up excuses to myself as for why I was waiting."
Taking a moment to Collect his thoughts, Henry the extracted a small vial filled with greenish gas, and held it out to Sayuri.
"This is a mutagen I have Concocted over the last few days. As we talked about briefly before my thoughtless actions, I have made this to make your ants more powerful. This will make them stronger, more durable and greatly enhance their reflexes. It should significantly enhance their capabilities to carry out your wishes, and survive the hazards involved. Though it shames me to admit it, part of the reason I created it so quickly was to use it to seek your forgiveness. But that is the way of a lesser man, which I strive not to be.
Though I of course hope you can forgive my foolishness, I dearly wish for you to accept the mutagen whether or not I am forgiven, as I believe it can possible aid you."
Henry then lapsed into stoic silence, although he could not quite quell the faint nervousness and even fainter hope that he held while awaiting Sayuri's answer.

Ugh, overdramatic AN' old fashioned. I still don't get why ye didn't jus' 'and 'er the gift, an' flatter 'er into forgivin' ye. Much easier tha' way.

[Elderand]

William was in the dorm. He was near simultaneously cracking and eating a couple dozen pounds of walnuts, whose discarded shell were rapidly becoming a small mountain on the corner of his desk, and writing at a speed just short of setting fire to pencil and paper out of shear friction.
He was actually alternating between eating and writing in a small leather journal and writing an outline for a new book (His 78th) on paper sheets.

He needed the journal, he had more thought in a an hour than the average man had in a month, it made it easy to loose track of things, so he wrote about the events in his life and his thoughts if only as a reference material to go back to and allow his thinking to relate to the time scale others used.

In between wallnuts and the journal he was also working on his latest trashy romance novel. He'd taken to writing a couple years after his powers manifested when his parents ran into financial trouble trying to keep him fed. He needed a lot of food. Writing had been one of the few form of gainful employement he could do at his age. He was too young for anything else. He'd never actually been published, not traditionaly at least, he kept everything online were his anonymity was garanteed. The only issue was actually transcribing his work on a computer, these machines were infernaly slow to him and so he had taken to writing a couple books on paper and then buckling down once every couple weeks to take the time to actually transcribe them.

He leaned back, a smile crossing his lips as he thought of Rebecca, that was a very welcome development. Even if talking to her during the day had a tendency to murder his eyesight and fashion sense. Then again, better that than broody self indulgent goth vampire.
He'd never had a girlfirend before, few friends too for that matter. Europe had not been a hotbed of superpowered individuals and that made relating to other peoples difficult at best. How to explain to anyone what it felt like to be able to run from Jersey to the amazon in under an hour ?

A fraction of a second later his mind moved to the next logical step (after eating a couple more walnuts, the mountain now threatening to collapse) he'd have to find someone in the school or on the continent who also had superspeed so they could teach him the few tricks he still missed. Running on water and up walls. He'd never mastered those, never had a reason to. Now things were different. How did that song go again ? (he had a tendency to think in terms of songs that fit any particular situation) I can show you the world, shining, shimmering, splendid. He intended to show Rebecca as many amazing sights as he could but he was currently limited to one continent (two if you counted the americas separatly). Romantic gestures took on quite a different scale when you had superpower.

Last time he'd shown her the sky of the Atacama desert. She'd admitted that the night had lost some of it's interest since she'd become a vampire, nocturnal paintings being a painful reminder. But there was beauty in the night that most people could never experience and even thought he hadn't said it out loud he had wanted to show her something exceptional that would help her appreciate the night, something she'd never experienced as a human and that couldn't therefore be a painful reminder.

Now if he could learn these last few tricks he'd be able to take her on a tour of the greatest art museum the world over. He hoped her artistic soul would appreciate seeing the mona lisa or the raft of the médusa privately. Tour the canals of venise. Of course those would require planning. Her condition made running into the wrong direction challenging but taking a whole day or two to enjoy a world tour of art and greatest vistas seemed suitably romantic to him.

Still even barring artful speed dates learning those tricks would prove useful for the other important matter at hand. Garret had asked him to become captain of the metaball team. That had been a surprise given that had no experience in the sport whatsoever, having learned the rules seconds before the first play. He wasn't even entirely sure what being a captain meant. Henry/edward....Henward ? Better not let them hear that nickname, but the shorthand was efficient. Henward had better minds for tactics than he did. Was he supposed to keep them motivated ? Herd the players like a bunch of superpowered cats ? Be a drill sergeant equivalent ? Was he supposed to be the team representive with the officials of the school for whatever was needed ? For now he'd have to rely on Garret for a while longer to show him the ropes but he supposed he couldn't take too long the master the situation or the players might not take him seriously.

More than that, it was becoming clear that he needed to master his power, he couldn't count on raw speed and reflexes on the field and whitout those he was just as fragile as any normal person. It was a miracle he hadn't shattered a few dozen bones when he crashed into the bleachers. A testament to the uniforms durability to be sure.

He briefly wondered if he could get the guitar player that had shown up during practice to play while they trained (Now he imagined a training montage, players running around the field on a rainy day while bobbing and weaving then learning to run into those strange football manequin things for tackle practice with this or this as background music)

So many things to do, so many thoughts to write down in his leather book (Volume 17 of this year).
Soon he decided to get to the kitchen to eat something. Walnuts weren't cutting it. He paused when he realised he had already cleaned up, that might be an issue. One secret he had kept to himself, even from the schools telepath, mostly by actively thinking about other things, was that he regularly wore makeup. Foundation really and only on the edge of his neck or, like when had taken Rebecca to the desert, his right leg and arm.

The simple truth was that he had gained his power through being electrocuted by a high voltage power line, he was never going to walk away from that one unscathed and truthfully he had a litchenberg figure scar running over his right side. It was very faint by now, little more than slightly redder lines against his skin but he was self conscious about it.

Still, it was late and he couldn't be arsed to cover it up properly, instead he grabbed a scarf to cover his neck and went out to get a sandwich (or fifteen)

[darklink_shadow]

Sayuri had spent much of her time sending intelligent and large bees to crawl on the ceiling of various classrooms and listen in on lessons. The hivemind would digest this information separately from her own mind and then while she slept their minds would integrate, and she would reap the labor of their collective minds. For this reason, Sayuri rarely paid any attention in class, and was there only in body. Elsewhere, she focused on the activities of a few dozen insects while they performed experiments on larvae to see the results of genetic therapy.

Parts of these experiments were harder than others. There were some aspects she wished to see in her insects that were from other species and genetic manipulation was not as simple as they made it appear in the movies. But by the end of the third day, she had accomplished what she set out to do: she had created a much sturdier ant that had entirely safe paralytic poison.

But her time was not spent solely on these things; a certain someone had promised to train her with guns, and despite warnings about him, Sayuri was deeply intrigued by the clone. Perhaps not romantically, but there was some amount of attraction to a man with a big gun, and the guts and strength to use it but who was still compassionate enough to calm down a crazy bug lady. Perhaps if he proved to be better than his reputation, and revealed himself to be talented at something. Sayuri had no interest in a man without ambition, drive, and power. Her father was a strong male role model, and so she had high expectations of anyone she would be willing to date. It wasn't about money, or status, though, it was about attitude.

---

On the night of their patrol, Sayuri was dressed in dark tight fitting garb. She had a hip quiver full of crossbow bolts on each hip, just under two holsters for what looked much more like guns than crossbows currently due to their collapsible arms. Dried venom coated all of her weapons, including the pair of bandoleers of throwing knives, which was her real weapon of choice. Tonight the toxins were almost exclusively non-lethal, but each of her boots held a trio of thin needles coated in potent and lethal admixture of poisons. This much of her garb was very typical of a night out for her when she used to work solo, but tonight she had a rifle strapped to her back. She had had employees of her father's company heavily modify a standard sniper's rifle to fire needles instead of bullets, making it more of a super long range dart gun, but this also enabled its clip to hold dozens of rounds that were submerged in what had been affectionately named "Sayuri's Sleepytime Serum."

When the Paragon arrived, Sayuri gave a curt hand wave, but kept on high alert. However when Henry approached her, she cycled through a few emotions, ranging between a thankful happiness to an agitated anger. The boy was so sweet, but annoyingly so. He was sort of pathetic, but he was so kind. He didn't belong in this time period.

Taking the vial from Henry, she smiled, forcefully at first, but genuinely after a moment. "Henry, you talk way too much. I forgive you. I forgave you already. Sheesh, you're not so important that I'm going spend days agonizing over what you said to try to calm me down. You're a sweetheart. Really you are, but you gotta stop thinking that anyone really gives a god damn if you say something wrong. Ed's a jerk, to be sure, so don't listen to everything he says, but no doubt he tries to give you advice. Listen to some of it. Have some confidence in yourself. You're a clever guy. Try to remember that.

And call that guy on the card. I told him I was sending him a bright young pair of minds, and now he thinks I'm making it up. You're making me look bad, Henry."

Sayuri clicked her tongue in annoyance. "And stop avoiding me. I thought we were gonna be friends. It's pretty rude to avoid people. I don't know if I can forgive you for that one."

[gremlin-pult]

Taking the vial from Henry, she smiled, forcefully at first, but genuinely after a moment. "Henry, you talk way too much. I forgive you. I forgave you already. Sheesh, you're not so important that I'm going spend days agonizing over what you said to try to calm me down. You're a sweetheart. Really you are, but you gotta stop thinking that anyone really gives a god damn if you say something wrong. Ed's a jerk, to be sure, so don't listen to everything he says, but no doubt he tries to give you advice. Listen to some of it. Have some confidence in yourself. You're a clever guy. Try to remember that.

And call that guy on the card. I told him I was sending him a bright young pair of minds, and now he thinks I'm making it up. You're making me look bad, Henry."

See? SEE!? Even the clever little bird tells ye to lissen to my sage advice! I knew she were a good egg, tha' one. Now jus' do as she ses, dear bruther...
~Trust in meee~....

"Oh, well that is wonderful. I do tend to worry more than is healthy..." Henry said, relaxing with a delighted smile at her words. "And I shall endeavor to follow your kind directions, er, advice, Miss Kim. I wow that henceforth I shall become more assertive, and to... well, at least consider more closely what Edward says. I do have some experience in filtering the useful tidbits out of the vast ocean of nonsense and ribald joking that is his usual chatter."

Sayuri clicked her tongue in annoyance. "And stop avoiding me. I thought we were gonna be friends. It's pretty rude to avoid people. I don't know if I can forgive you for that one."

Paling once more, Henry quickly blurted. "N-no of course, I shall no longer avoid your company, Miss Kim. I-it is very enjoyable, and I would never think to do such again... P-perhaps I could make it up to you, er, hmmm... We could perhaps procure one of the schools laboratories when next we have free time and it suits you, and work on some further mutagens and chemical enhancements for your companions? I would be thrilled to learn more of how your connection with them works, and to help make them more... Well, more extraordinary.... Oh, And I would be honored to be considered your friend.... Er, I shall stop talking now, I think." He finished lamely.

Yeh, don't dig the 'ole ye jus' filled back up again. besides, it's my turn ta come out an' play now. We've got a busy night ahead o' us. Let's paint the town red!

[darklink_shadow]

Sayuri smiled. "You're just a giant ball of nervous energy, aren't you? I would greatly enjoy performing experiments with you. And if you want to know more about my dear friends... I'd be happy to share what I know. I... Hmm. I take the bond for granted, I guess. I don't really care how it works. Not any more than a man cares how he is able to talk to his fellows verbally. I'll see you out there. Well, maybe not tonight. I suppose it'll be Edward out tonight. Maybe tomorrow night then."

She gave Henry the same small wave she had given John earlier, and then nodded slightly before turning her attention back towards their leader, waiting for directions.

[gremlin-pult]

"Yes, I suppose it is time for you to take the wheel, Edward. Thank you for being so patient with me these last few days." Henry said. "I know we do not always get along, well we rarely do in fact, but I am happy that you could set aside your grievances to..."

GRAAAAH, Shut it, Shut it, Shut it! Ye 'ad yer time an' I've been a reg'lar angel! It's my turn now, an' I'm gettin' cabin fever in 'ere! Let. Me. Ooouuut!

Henry was completely motionless for a second, before letting out a tired sigh. "Haah, very well, Edward.... But can we please try to get through the night without any mishaps? And perhaps we can do the switch with a bit less theatrics than usual?"

Too late!!

With a groan Henry fell to his knees, the popping as his body lenghtened, contorted and rearranged slightly clearly audible. His hair once more grew to his shoulders, turning black, and his teeth and eyes changed to pointy and green respectively.
"Aaah... Haaah...Heeheeehaahee." Edward panted and giggled as he got to his feet. The giggling then evolved into full blown maniacal laughter, as he raised his arms above his head in triumph. "Yeehehahahaheee! I'm back in action! Ahahahaheee. It's showtime!"

*sigh*... How very eloquent of you, Edward. And very dignified. You truly have a gift for showing your stellar personality...

[Mekboy]

Willow's eyes lit up. Finally! Ditch-boy was so very much fun!

"Ditch-boy! Thought you'd chickened out, were gonna leave your poor bruther to pick up the slack!"

[gremlin-pult]

Willow's eyes lit up. Finally! Ditch-boy was so very much fun!

"Ditch-boy! Thought you'd chickened out, were gonna leave your poor bruther to pick up the slack!"

"Whaaat?" Edward retorted with an expression of disbelief. "Pixiestick, you wound me. 'ow could ye think I'd sit out on sumthin like this? I'm always up fer a bit o' fun. And trollin' fer baddies to test me toys on, all legit like? Tha's jus' icin' on the fun-cake."

[Mekboy]

"And here was me imagining yer curled up in the corner, knees knocking and teeth chatterin'! Thought it much more suited to you. What sorta fun little toys you devised then?"

[gremlin-pult]

"Nah, Tha's more o' a mid-summer thing, when I go to summer School at the asylum. Besides, me best straightjacket is still at the cleaners." Edward said, casually waving of Willow's words. "As fer the toys... The green one is run-o'-the-mill tranquilizer. Th' red one is extra powerful tranq, made fer any super durable baddies, runaway elephants an' door-to-door salesmen. The blue one is my patented giggle-shot. It basically releases chemicals in the brain which Causes uncontrollable laughter. I'm talkin' pee yer pants an' void yer bowels laughter. It neutralizes the target, an' handily destroys morale on account o' the aforementioned bowel-voidin'. Plus, it's really, really funny. I have a few pellets o' it in gas form too."
As he explains, Edward points to the differently colored dart-clips. As his hand reaches the last clip, which is bright pink, he pauses for a second.
"As fer this one... Tha's a surprise." He says with a wicked grin.

Oh Edward... I do wish we had left that one at home... It is still untested, and a highly volatile prototype no less!

"Tha's why I brought it, 'Enry. Wha' better time to test it than tonight?"

[DarkLadyOfTheSith]

Outside Rebecca's Room

Bryn is somewhat surprised that Rebecca's room is both dark, and absent a William. "For some reason I thought you'd have William coming along with us. You've been rather close the last few days, I've noticed." She's more than a little nervous, but is doing an admirable job of hiding it. Anyone who didn't know her as well as Rebecca does would think she's quite calm and composed about the upcoming tag-along.

Cafeteria

William finds the cafeteria to be relatively busy still. Aside from a few normal late diners, there are also two JSK patrols who have recently returned from their shifts queuing up for dinner. The speedster recognizes an Italian-looking girl dressed all in green as one of the onlookers at the metaball practice/tryout the other night. She's at the rear of the line, and William ends up in the spot right behind her.

JSK Patrol

Diana hands a packet to Orlando. A brief glance inside shows it has some maps, a couple of cell phones, and a list of names and phone numbers. "You guys are all on patrol between Main and Winchester and Park and 4th Ave. It's about a square mile of territory. Orlando, you can pick whatever sort of patrol pattern you want. It's part of the financial district. Be aware that most of the banks in the area have private security, but have been informed of our patrols. Feel free to check in with any of them if you wish, or simply walk the streets if you prefer. How you cover your area is up to you.

We're mostly supposed to be a visible presence to help deter crime. If you see a crime being committed, your first action is to contact both the Signal PD and Ensign Rounnig. If they have any special instructions to relay, we should follow the orders of Rounnig first, and the SPD second. Barring any orders to leave the area or wait for backup, you are then free to deal with any criminals as you see fit. Attempt arrest before violence, but if lethal force is used against you, you are authorized to use it back." She quickly follows up with "Ensign Rounnig assures me that he doesn't anticipate any sort of deadly attacks, but wants us to be prepared just in case. SPD is standing by outside the school with a van to take you to your patrol area and they will return once your shift is over. Any questions?" While she was talking to Orlando specifically, the way she looks up at the group seems to indicate any of those assembled are welcome to ask questions.

[Anyr]

A rather goofy smile appeared on Rebecca's face. The mention of William brought with it a flood of happy thoughts.

"'Close'. Yeah, we're very close now. It's been great. William is kind, thoughtful, sensitive; The works. And he's introduced me to a whole amazing world that...Sorry, I'm rambling. This isn't the time.

But anyway, it didn't seem right to drag him along. This isn't his problem: It's ours. He'd only be going because I asked him to. Besides, we can handle it just fine by ourselves. What villain could possibly get the best of this amazing duo?"

Bryn's nervousness hadn't gone unnoticed. In response, Rebecca dutifully extended her aura of positive vibes to cover the both of them. She'd give as many pep talks as were needed to keep her friend's spirits up.

[Elderand]

When William steps in the line for the cafetaria one of the cook can't help but let out "oh no, not him" which make a few students turn around to see who came. Those who had the misfortune of having to wait behind him in line on previous occasion now thanked their luck that they showed up first. His order tended to take a very long time to fill. The whole kitchen staff having to be diverted toward him all at once.

By now William is used to such reactions however and doesn't pay them any attention. Still queuing was his least favorite things to do. The world moved slowly enough as it was, queuing made it worse. So he decided to strike a conversation with the girl in front of him to pass the time.

"Hey there. Didn't I see you watch practice the other day ?"

[Wdwune]

"Good evening, everyone. Orlando, I would like to inform you that Edward and I have decided that he shall be the one in control on tonights patrol. We agree on the fact that the one with enhanced healing capabilities is best suited for our first outing. I will of course be available should it become necessary. So we will Trade places in a moment. I just have one thing to do first."

"Good evening to you too," Orlando replies with a friendly nod. "And yes, well thought. I'm counting on you both guys!"

"Aaah... Haaah...Heeheeehaahee." Edward panted and giggled as he got to his feet. The giggling then evolved into full blown maniacal laughter, as he raised his arms above his head in triumph. "Yeehehahahaheee! I'm back in action! Ahahahaheee. It's showtime!"

"Welcome back to the surface, Ed," Orlando replies with a smirk. "How do you feel? Are you ready for a walkabout?"

Diana hands a packet to Orlando. A brief glance inside shows it has some maps, a couple of cell phones, and a list of names and phone numbers. "You guys are all on patrol between Main and Winchester and Park and 4th Ave. It's about a square mile of territory. Orlando, you can pick whatever sort of patrol pattern you want. It's part of the financial district. Be aware that most of the banks in the area have private security, but have been informed of our patrols. Feel free to check in with any of them if you wish, or simply walk the streets if you prefer. How you cover your area is up to you.

We're mostly supposed to be a visible presence to help deter crime. If you see a crime being committed, your first action is to contact both the Signal PD and Ensign Rounnig. If they have any special instructions to relay, we should follow the orders of Rounnig first, and the SPD second. Barring any orders to leave the area or wait for backup, you are then free to deal with any criminals as you see fit. Attempt arrest before violence, but if lethal force is used against you, you are authorized to use it back." She quickly follows up with "Ensign Rounnig assures me that he doesn't anticipate any sort of deadly attacks, but wants us to be prepared just in case. SPD is standing by outside the school with a van to take you to your patrol area and they will return once your shift is over. Any questions?" While she was talking to Orlando specifically, the way she looks up at the group seems to indicate any of those assembled are welcome to ask questions.

"Understood," Orlando replies as he takes a look at the maps and the list of names. "I have a few questions regarding this list of names, but I'll wait a little."

He then turns to his companions and scratches his head. "Honestly speaking, I'm glad to receive the honor of leading Squad Bravo, but this is my first time leading a squad. However (and as I mentioned some of you before) this task bestowed upon me is my duty, so I will not run away from it. You guys and girls are my responsibility, I will do my best to protect you, and you have my word that I will not abandon you. In return I hope you all to help me in the success of our first patrol: Protect your comrades, trust them, let aside personal feelings in favor of the mission. In other words, we've all received instructions (myself included); not following them could led us not only to failure, but to unnecessary danger and could put our lives at stake."

He clears his throat.

"At first we will proceed in one single formation. Willow, you'll be at the center and use your acute senses to detect any auspicious activities. Edward and myself will be in front of you; Ed and Henry have great analythic abilities and my Circle of Perception will help locate invisible traps and hidden foes in a close range. Sayuri, you'll stick to Willow's left side, and Warren to the right; those positions will be perfect to cover the whole formation with both Sayuri's perceptive insects and Warren's support music. As for the back, John will stay behind Willow, Ellen behind Sayuri, and Richard behind Warren; this way John can assist as both rear scout and ranged support for the whole formation, while Richard can easily teleport both Warren and John to any spot to grant extra melee aid, and Ellen can rush to help and cover all the rear section in case of an emergency."

"Once we get to the center area, we'll split up into two divisions. I'll lead the First Division and Willow will be in charge of the Second. Warren, Sayuri and Richard will follow me, and Edward, John and Ellen will join Willow. First Division will patrol the east, and the Second the west."

"Additionally," he speaks to Sayuri, "I want your insects to cover the whole patrol area to increase the watch effectiveness, also make one or two of them stick to each of the two divisions as well, just in case. This will reduce the chances of ambushes."

He turns to everybody again and picks up one of the cellphones Diana left. "Use these. I'd like to keep a smooth communication between both divisions, and call the other division for reinforcements in case of an emergency, in which case we return to the first formation."

"If anyone disagrees with the formation plan, please feel free to discuss this right now," he adds. "I don't recommend to talk about our tactics in the midst of the patrol."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Merry Xmas to all! Sorry about the delay.

[gremlin-pult]

"Welcome back to the surface, Ed," Orlando replies with a smirk. "How do you feel? Are you ready for a walkabout?"

"Ready fer action I am, Cap'n." Edward answered with a his wide toothy grin.

He listened with rapt attention to the rest of Orlando's speech, and spoke up as soon as Orlando finished.
"So, lemme see iffen I's got this straight, like. You want us to go together at first. With a proper formation, no less. But then Ye want us ta split up, with one group, more Precisely th' one I'm in, bein' led by pixiestick. The 'ands-down most crazy, violent an' semi-sadistic piece o' work in this whole group, p'raps barrin' yours truly!?" Edward gave Orlando a long, hard look, his face completely serious. It lasted for all of 6 seconds before his composure crumbled, giving way to his slightly manic smile. "I 'ave absolutely no problems with tha', whatsoever. Sounds like a party."

Yes, one that ends with police escorting half the revellers to the drunktank, and the other half to the hospital. Oh dear...