Teocawki Thread One: Hope Academy

[Zelphas]

Serhe is able to find several pairs of handcuffs among the unconscious guards, and sets about restraining the fallen villains while the Stonesmiths work on their device. As he moves to restrain Livewire, he finds her breathing easily, the long claw marks on her stomach almost closed. A sudden, light weight on one side of his head causes Serhe to twitch to one side, and a black feather flutters out of his hair, vanishing into wisps of Void before it touches the ground.

On the ground, Galgameth paces restlessly, growling and flexing his bloodied claws, his eyes everywhere at once.

--

A little more than ten seconds later, Lambda Cell arrived.

Eva Novak (Hero name Triage), the leader of Lambda Cell and an unparalleled healer, set about removing your wounds, while Siegfried Zhu (Hero name Red Baron), a straightforward physical paragon, began manhandling the badly-damaged movable cell back into some semblance of order and moving all of the villains into place. The other two, an odd mixture of woman and large, needle-beaked bird made seemingly out of light who went by the hero name Brightwing and a turtle-like being calling himself Kappa met with Galgameth, exchanging information in a series of growls, chirps, and barks that they all seemed to understand.

There was a slight bit of excitement a little less than a minute after Lambda Cell arrived, when the world suddenly grew dark and heavy again and the wind began to howl... and then Galgameth leaped straight over the wall. There was a loud thud, and a growl. The light returned, and the wind died. Again.

Eventually, Lambda Cell and Galgameth reached some sort of decision and split up. Eva Novak climbed on Galgameth's back, and the two of them leaped further into the city, towards the sporadic screams of the Wendigo farther within hope. As soon as the Stonesmiths finished their device, it was plucked from their hands by Brightwing, the bird-woman giving a chirrup of thanks before checking it once and shooting off straight as an arrow in the direction the Bug Woman left, Kappa running after her at an incredible speed. Siegfried finished piling the villains together and checking their restraints, then turned to the group of you.

---

"Well done, kids," the Red Baron booms. He seems to have only one sound setting: loud. "Thanks to you, their diversion didn't last long, and we were able to start fighting the big bad guys right away. Could you run over what happened here for me?"

Spoiler: OOC

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This is the end of this story arc; we'll be doing wrap-up scenes and a slight interlude here. Everyone take One Hero Point for beating the bad guys, as well as 5 PP plus 2 PP! You can spend the 2 PP however you like, but...

The 5 PP is special: it goes towards your first Super Suit! What this means is that you can spend the 5 PP however you like, but every power you buy with it has to have Removable 1 or Removable 2 attached to it.

Now, you may be asking why I'm giving you Hero Points if it's the end of the adventure. I'm going to steal this idea blatantly from Quellian, so here goes: you can use your remaining Hero Points for an Inspiration or Edit Scene, basically to make something small of your choosing happen in the world.

I'm still toying with the idea of Downtime Actions and other things for you guys to do in between adventures; for now, there's none of that, but there may be some in the future!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica...hadn't been paying too much attention to her surroundings while she was at work on enchanting. She was actually a little startled when Brightwing snagged the heat-tracker.

"Best I can figure these guys were mercenaries hired by...well, someone. Evidence points to that Crow guy, since he was apparently the one who hired Gauntlet and Greaves originally. I assume the, uh, Wendigo? Was also either hired or lured out by some sort of ploy." She kinda looked to Roy as she said that. He was a bit more read-up on the various big-names in the area.

"Goal was evidently to rescue them, presumably to keep them from talking about whatever the runes they have are keeping them from talking about. Good news is, Greaves seems to be the smarter of the two, and he's the one we still have in custody. So most likely he'll be able to say more anyway. 'Course if Brightwing retrieves Gauntlet it's a moot point. The mercenaries did seem sufficiently dedicated to the cause that they deemed retrieval of their targets more important than their own escape, so most likely they don't have equivalent information, but they might have some. A Supernaturalist should be on hand when they're questioned, in case of similar binding runes." Again, Erica felt kinda weird giving a tactical assessment to an experienced Hero, and again deemed making an assumption that he knew all of it to carry a greater potential consequence than just saying it.

"Um. That guy there is a mental Paragon. I think the other three guards were just under some sort of influence. The others were Elementalists I believe, although at least the bug lady seemed to rely more on an Enhancement-based super-suit. They seemed to be mainly trying to hold us off long enough to make an extraction. The um...the cell seemed pretty vulnerable to attack, actually. Someone might want to look into reinforcing those..."

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy nods along to Erica's assessment of the situation. "Considering the Wendigo's choice of target, it's a logical assumption that the Dimovs may have been contacted by the Crow and its associates," he says, elaborating a bit based on what he knows. "Considering Lassitude's original disappearance was on Mensae, and the Crow's rumored connection to the same island, it's not unreasonable to think Lassitude might know sommat of them. The but woman seems to have come from Veld's Weavers--it seems this is a multinational mercenary group. It would be nice to find out how Lassitude infiltrated the guards for this transfer, and make sure that there are no lasting effects to the guards who had been controlled, as well."

[Zelphas]

"Standard issue cells," the Red Baron answers in response to Erica's comment, shrugging. "They're strong on the outside against almost everyone, but the inside is vulnerable to Elementalist attacks--can't use the same runes, in order to store prisoners in there.

"Cells Alpha, Beta, and Epsilon are still trying to drive Wendigo away," he says, not unkindly. "bringing her out as a distraction to save these two doesn't make much sense. Thanks for the information, kids; we'll keep you up to date on what's going on with these guys. Now let me get you all back to your dorms." He gestures for you all to go ahead, shifting his body as though preparing to jump.

---

Your shadow day is cut short; Alpha's battle against Wendigo incapacitates Earshot and severely injures the Prestige, and immediately after the battle they are consumed by tracking the powerful Transformer. The entire ordeal is considered too dangerous for first-year students, despite your admirable showing against the other villains earlier that day.

It isn't until the following Monday that you find out the results of your tracking device. Triage, her face slightly apologetic, explains that the trail led in a nearly straight line out over Hope farmlands and finally over the wall, where it disappeared into the Mist. It seemed that the Bug Woman had employed a criminal technique known as Mist-skimming, a well-documented method of discouraging pursuit by diving into the Mist for short stretches and resurfacing elsewhere. Brightwing, with Kappa's help, had quickly canvassed the Wall for several miles in either direction, but had found no trace of the Bug Woman coming back to land. The prevailing theory was that the Bug Woman had rendezvoused with an airship somewhere out in the Mist near Hope, using that as her getaway vehicle. Lambda Cell began checking every scheduled flight to and from Hope at around that time, but they don't expect to find much at the moment.

---

ONE MONTH LATER

Roy and Erica

It's your first pseudo-break off of Hope Academy; a three-day weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So, naturally, you went home to visit your mother.

The lovely little house that you had bought a year or two after discovering your talent with flux crystals stood on a side street near the edge of Hope, in a nice enough neighborhood to be comfortable without being exorbitantly expensive. As you approach your front door, the sound of your mother's laughter reaches your ears. This is by no means unpleasant, but it is surprising; Marisa Stonesmith is a strong woman, but she has not laughed very often since you left the Magellans.

Entering your home, you find your mother at the dining room table, a cup of strong tea in her hands, smiling at an unfamiliar man seated across the table from her. "Erica! Roy! How was your first month at Hope? Is Rhadamanthys still terrorizing first years in general education?" she turns to you as you approach, still smiling. "Oh! I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting guests, but he dropped in rather suddenly today. This is Dr..." your mother trails off, a faintly confused look on her face.

"I told you, Mrs. Stonesmith, Will is perfectly acceptable," The man replies in a resonant baritone, rising to greet the two of you. The man is tall and well-built, carrying himself with a sense of poise and purpose that seems to fill the room. He is not conventionally handsome, but his innate presence and a certain grace to his movements evoke an odd air of... reverence, almost, or at least esteem, as though he were an artwork come to life. He takes each of your hands in turn, his fashionably-cut brown hair swaying slightly as he moved to the two of you. "Mr. Stonesmith, Miss Stonesmith, I am happy to have the chance to meet you both," he expresses, small wrinkles appearing at either side of his lightning blue eyes--the nearly-imperceptible blue of a semi-charged flux crystal--as he smiles. "It is an honor to make your acquaintance."

Spoiler: OOC

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Erica, take a Hero Point for your Marisa Stonesmith Complication.

Roy, take a Hero Point for your Dr. Gravitas Complication.

Serhe

Thinking back, you should made sure that Tarro was still out on assignment before returning home.

Annihilus faces your across the empty training space in your family's household, smiling in what someone outside of your family might think was a friendly manner. "Just like old times, right Ser?" he calls out, standing confidently with his arms loose at his sides. "Though, now that you're a brave little Hero fighting villains all on your own, there's no need to hold back, right? Come on, then, I'll give you the first hit; let's see your Hero-level talents!" Tarro spreads his hands wide, waiting for you to make the first move.

Spoiler: OOC

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Serhe, take a Hero Point for your Hidden Powers Complication.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica cast Roy a kinda surprised, but hopeful, looked as they approached the house and heard their mother's laughter. She...didn't recognize the man sitting opposite her, but...well, he appeared to have made her mother smile. So, you know, consider her positively disposed. She darted over to give her mom a big hug, kissing her temple before pressing her cheek against her's. "Hi Mom!" she said with a cheery brightness that was somewhat at odds with the stalwart demeanor she tended to adopt at school. At Hope, she walked with the confident poise of a Hero, spoke with the ringing calm of a burgeoning leader, and acted with the driven focus of a woman whose goals were coming into her reach. "It's been great!" she said with a sort of bursting-at-the-seams enthusiasm that promised extensive elaboration in the not-so-distant future.

At home she was a teenaged girl cheerily greeting her mother after probably the longest time they'd spent apart in her life.

It was several moments before she let go and turned her attention to...Dr. Will, evidently. She summoned up a bit more of the Prism Knight's poise, giving him a gentle smile and shaking his hand. "A pleasure to meet you," she said politely, though once he was shaking Roy's hand she did take the opportunity to cast her mother a little irreverently-smilish look with just a hint of a questioning brow raise.

Not, of course, that she didn't have other ways to gather information...

Spoiler

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As per normal Arcane Resonance is up by default, so she'll be taking an Analytical peek at both Marisa's and "Will's" emotions. Insight to Evaluate: (1d20+18)[34].

[Thokk_Smash]

From the moment they touch down, Roy has an odd feeling niggling the back of his mind. Perhaps it was begun when he hears his mother's laughter, but no--his mother's laughter is always a cause for celebration. Anything that can bring out her laughter is nothing but good. Roy takes his turn after Erica, giving their mother a giant bear hug, as if afraid she would poof into smoke if he let go. "Hey, mom," he says in a voice that is far more subdued than he sounds at school. Here, there is no need to put on a facade of mania; no need to test how others react to him. "Oh, he tries to terrorize us: we try to humor him."

He grins at his own joke, hoping to elicit at least a smile in return. He then turns to face their unexpected guest. There should have been no need for his maniacal facade; not in his own Mists-damned home. He keeps his irritation from his face with practiced ease and gives the man a firm handshake. "It is a pleasure indeed, sir," he says with just the right amount of respect of a teenager to a strange adult. He continues, endeavoring to keep the man's attention on him, "I'm sorry, but it feels like you have us at a disadvantage: you seem to know of us, yet we only know your first name. What brings you to our humble abode, Doctor...?

He trails off, his question both the obvious and a request for the man's full name. He addresses the man as "doctor" mostly to see how he'll react to being called it after telling their mother it was unnecessary. Mentally, to Erica, he thinks, ~"Who the heck is this guy?"~

Spoiler

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Deception to Evaluate Will (likely to be redundant with Erica's, but perhaps more can be gleaned from Roy's direct interaction?): (1d20+16)[30]

Oh, and Roy's Enhanced Visor has Infravision; would he be able to tell how long this guy's been here by the remnants of his heat signature from when he entered?

[Zelphas]

Erica and Roy

Behind the man, your mother rolls her eyes slightly at Erica's raised brow and gives a little shake of her head. Nothing of any strange sort going on here; just a friendly chat.

Will grimaces artfully as Roy asks for his last name. "Would you believe that I almost went to a Hero Academy so I could make up a pseudonym and never use my last name again?" he says, his grimace turning into a rueful, self-deprecating grin that somehow only serves to magnify his aura of esteem. "I'm afraid that my last name is 'Savage', though I attempt to embody its opposite in all that I do. Please, 'Will' is perfectly acceptable." He waits for the two of you to seat yourselves again at the table before sitting himself.

"Truth be told, I honestly did not expect to meet you both here today," he continues smoothly, looking at each of you in turn. "Given your current scholarly pursuits, it is a little difficult to contact the two of you at the moment, and I travel often enough over the course of my work that I haven't been in the Hope area for several months in any case. I found myself near your home and, not wishing to make a nuisance of myself, resolved to drop my card with Mrs. Stonesmith so that we could arrange a more convenient time for the three of us to meet. Mrs. Stonesmith was kind enough to invite me inside, and we got to talking before you arrived.

"I wanted to discuss with you your remarkable abilities in enchanting and enhancing flux crystal. No doubt you've had many people approach you on the matter before; I suppose I'm yet another interested citizen, although I do have a somewhat unique talent with the incredible material myself," he says modestly, sipping lightly at his tea. "My skills are not as directly, immediately beneficial to the people of Teocawki as yours are, but I believe that together we could do quite a bit of good. Of course, you are both just returning from a long moth of studies--and quite an eventful month, if the stories are to be believed--and I don't wish to intrude on your family gathering any more than I have. If you would be willing to permit me a few moments and a single flux crystal--one of your enchanted crystals, if you could, and I would be more than happy to pay for the stone itself--I can give a quick demonstration of what we could do together and then take my leave for now."

Spoiler: Insight/Deception Results

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Your mother seems happy; she's had a pleasant conversation with a charming person. Her emotions don't seem to be manipulated any more than they would be by any sufficiently charismatic individual (an individual that's not a Social Paragon, that is).

Roy, you can't get a read off of Will. No tells, no tics, nothing. It's like trying to 'read' a painting.

Erica gets a little more information. Overlaying everything within Will is an ocean of reserve; not cols aloofness, but warm, formal respect. You get the sense that this is a man who approaches nearly everything in his life with a sense of genuine respect for what's around him, and a man who is very, very rarely caught off-guard or off-kilter emotionally. Running underneath that is an oddly heightened sense of... raw charisma, which seems to have been heightened by some means you can't quite fathom. It feels as though he has been pushed beyond his natural state by some internal means, but the artificial nature is all internal; whatever it is, it does not directly affect others, only indirectly influencing them by boosting Will's charisma and therefore his gestures and actions. It does not break through the ocean of reserve, but seems to be guided by it.

A few other emotions stand out as the man talks: a genuine spike of annoyance as he says his last name, which remains contained by the reserve but troubles it somewhat; and an odd fluctuation as he says he planned to simply leave his card, which you've come to realize is a sign of someone stretching the truth. If you had to guess, you'd say that he was planning to leave his card, but had considered having a chat with your mother as a viable option and readily accepted it when it appeared. A measure of focus and heightened emotion almost akin to eagerness appears as he asks for a flux stone; he wants an enchanted flux crystal far, far more than he is letting on.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica was...actually just slightly disappointed that he was actually here on business. Listen, do not get me wrong, nobody ever would or could replace her father and as far as her own purposes were concerned she had no desire for anyone to try. But, at the same time, it had been eight years and she wanted nothing more than for her mother to be happy. She would have neither blamed nor been upset with her if there had been something more to Will's presence in their home on this day.

To be fair, Dr. Savage was actually a kinda badass name. Although she'd grant, it was definitely the sort of name that you'd expect a Villain to have, so Erica could certainly understand why he wasn't all that fond of it.

And yet...weirdly enough, that sense of artificially heightened charm, which in the general course would normally have left people feeling more at ease, kinda raised Erica's hackles a bit. It was just an instinctive reaction, drilled into her bones by her experience with Nancy. She simply had a cognitive bias against people whose personal charisma was augmented by their powers.

But she was struck by just how eager he was to get one of their crystals. It was like, look, their Empowered Flux Crystals were cool, absolutely. And if they could figure out the technical specifics of how they made them, it would be huge. And sure, as word had spread, people had come to them to purchase their devices. But...that eagerness just seemed odd to her. She actually had to glance down at her own aura before she consciously realized just what struck her as so strange about the request.

"We sell them, sure," she said, just a bit hesitantly, although she didn't go into specifics because honestly the mercantile end of things was Roy's bailiwick. "But what do you want it to...do? I mean, the way it works is, I enchant the crystal to output something other than antigravity when charged, like heat or electricity or...ripples in space or metaphysical resonances, or whatever. And then my brother enhances certain parameters, like charge duration, or output speed, or intensity, or so on. It's not really a one-size-fits-all thing."

Spoiler: OOC

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Now, Erica's just trying to get a better sense of what he's looking for. I, however, would certainly be interested to know if that description happens to prompt any particular further emotional responses.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy holds his tea mug gently as he listens to the adult's pitch. It is impressive, to be sure. Well-rehearsed and thought out. Meant to appeal to their ideals and desires as Heroes-in-training.

And crafted tailor-made to him and his sister. The fact that he had planned to take advantage of their mother's good-nature to stay for a chat...well, fine, that's not so conspicuous. Their mom is a wonderful woman and person in general. Yet his desire to acquire one of their enchanted Flux stones, far deeper than he is letting on, is more than enough on its own to make Roy wary of the man.

"Well, we are flattered by your esteem," Roy says with a genial smile. "You are certainly the most civic-minded of those who have come to us requesting our wares. Too many people these days think of themselves far beyond the good of the people."

He pulls out a simple Enchanted Flux crystal--just one for shedding light--and begins to fiddle it around his gauntleted fingers. "Erica does have a point, though," he says, his voice conciliatory. "We can't simply give you one of our crystals--we use all of them ourselves, and don't really have any to spare. We could make a simple one for you on commission, but that brings me to another question: what is your unique talent? Again, we are a little in the dark, here, sir; it's hard to judge how to enchant the crystal when we don't know what you will use it for."

[Zelphas]

Will's smile gains a slightly self-deprecating tinge. "Please forgive me; an innate pitfall of my abilities, in the way that I am currently using them, is a certain flair for melodrama. My power is more easily shown than simply explained. In short, by touching solid or liquid matter, I can take the innate properties of said matter into myself and make them my own. Coupled with my medical training, I have been using my power in a sort of relief effort; I am able to modify my skills to rescue citizens from the aftermath of super-powered battles without causing further damage."

He spreads his hands modestly. "My unique talent already grants me a fair deal of versatility, but certain things are still beyond me: for example, I cannot touch light. With access to your enchanted flux crystals, my skills--and therefore my ability to help--would increase enormously." Will looks at Erica, a light of excited interest glowing in his lightning eyes. "To put it plainly, Miss Stonesmith, any and all of your enchantments and enhancements would be of incalculable worth to me in my endeavors. I do not plan this purchase to be a one-time happening; I would very much like to become one of your most regular repeat customers. I would be delighted if my first commission came as a surprise to me--something that I could not touch and take as my own normally, of course, but beyond that... whatever the two of you could imagine."

He looks over to Roy, his expression growing more serious. "If you would like me to back up my claims with action, Mister Stonesmith, I can do so with a simple touch; one touch would do little more than drain the crystal of its current charge, and I am willing to reimburse you for the manpower and time necessary to recharge it." He smiles again at the last statement, inviting it to be taken as a slight joke yet entirely serious about the offer. He does not reach for the flux stone, waiting for your response.

Spoiler: Erica

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A lot happens in the moments between the two of you talking and Will's rueful smile. Your explanation of what your can due to flux crystal only sharpens the interest, deepening it into something almost like hunger. Roy's comment about creating something on commission creates a burst of impatience, which is quickly flooded over and quelled by the sea of reserve before it can be more than subconscious thought. Within a moment or two, the reserve also dilutes the eager hunger, as some cerebral action more diffuse than base emotion comes through and overlays everything again as well. He seems to be working against his own strong desire for an enchanted flux crystal, counseling himself in patience with an eye towards something more long-term than the immediate gratification.

His explanation of his powers carries the ring of truth, as does his explanation of their use. He has used his powers to help others before, and he plans to do so again.

Spoiler: Insight or Deception DC 37 (I can't believe he actually rolled this either)

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That odd fluctuation appears again, this time much subtler than before. Will has done more with his powers than simply save people from collapsed buildings, and in the fluctuation you taste the barest traces of ambition... and possibly pride.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Boy, he really wanted one of their Flux Gemstones, didn't he?

Honestly, the intensity with which he desired it - an intensity which was probably even somewhat greater than it appeared, given the reserve that covered his emotions - surprised her. Erica was still getting used to the thought of their powers being, well...useful. Important. Desirable. She talked a good talk and walked a good walk at school, and her confidence was certainly developing in leaps and bounds, but deep inside the young girl who always got picked last for the team still found it mildly unbelievable.

This was not, however, in any way to say that that desire made her suspicious. Just because somebody wanted a tool that could expand what they could do didn't mean they wanted it for nefarious purposes. Erica wanted to help people, it was why she was becoming a Hero, and as a Hero she of course wanted to be as powerful as she could be, so as to better protect others - which was why it was so important that they had gotten into Hope. There were many great Hero academies, but Hope was the best.

Given that he seemed to be speaking truly about his intentions, that hunger she felt could only mean he had a deep motivation to help others.

Spoiler: OOC

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Now, Roy would handle the financial end of course, but even though he had said he'd like to be surprised, after hearing what he was looking for Erica pretty much immediately blurted, "Positive energy." She got a slightly apologetic look on her face for jumping the gun like that, but schooled it and elaborated, "Healing magic, basically. It can be invigorating too...speed you up and stuff. If I had to pick one of my gems for saving lives, it'd be that one," she said with a nod.

She blinked as a thought occurred. "Why would it drain the charge? You're...what, mimicking the object you touch, right? Or does it have to be an Enhanced object or something?" that just seemed weird, and well Erica was a curious sort, especially when it came to interesting powers. And Will's power was definitely interesting.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy regards the man for a few moments longer after Erica asks her last question. Dr Will seems to really, really want one of their enchanted Flux crystals--like, really, really badly. He's used to people being intrigued by their creations, and having a strong desire to get their hands on it. But no previous buyer has had such a, a visceral desire to get their hands on it as this man.

Yet, Roy can understand that. This man can do so much more with their creations than any other person could. Even Roy can imagine what the man's powers can do with their flexible powers, and he doesn't even know what his power does. "You can use this one, too," he says, unclasping a lavender-ish gem from the side of his visor. "I'll keep it a secret, but it's also something that'd be useful for post-crisis rescues."

He tilts his head at Erica's question. "Yeah. Like, what happens when you take on the properties of a solid or liquid, what happens to the object you touched?" He does plan to work out the pricing before letting the man touch his and Erica's Enchanted Flux, but the question took him before he could begin that bit yet.

[Arcran]

Serhe kicks himself for being dumb enough to come back when Tarro was here, as well as for his own bad luck. After all, Tarro was a professional hero. How often could he really be home? Unless, of course, he'd made a point to be home for this...

Tarro, do we really need to do this? We're not kids anymore, Serhe says, trying to keep his voice from sounding pleading. This is stupid. Why don't you just ask one of your pro friends how everything went? I'm tired, this is a waste of time. Tired, terrified, same difference, right? As much as Serhe wanted to try to take out his brother, there was absolutely no chance he was going to take him down.

Spoiler

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Persuasion! (1d20)[11]

[Zelphas]

Erica and Roy

Will takes the crystal from Roy almost reverently, cradling it carefully in his fingers. The gem brightens momentarily, and then fades, reverting to the color and tone of an uncharged flux crystal. "Flux crystal is a unique material, is it not?" he says a bit abstractedly in response, his eyes on the crystal as it slowly fades. For most materials, there is no effect on them from my touch; I claim their properties, but they do not lose the properties in response. Flux crystal, that strange, fascinating matter that it is, seems to guard its power more jealously than most material; it gives it only begrudgingly, and so my humble request to borrow must become a forceful claim to steal."

Will blinks and looks up, handing the now-inert crystal back to Roy with his trademark smile. "In any case, for reasons unknown to me, my touch robs flux crystals of their power when I choose to take on their attributes. Longer contact allows me to more fully manifest the traits I take on, but it can also have adverse effects upon the crystal itself... which is why in the future I would prefer to buy the crystals from you entirely rather than pay only for their charge." He pulls out an old pocket watch from his breast pocket for a moment, grimacing charmingly as he sees the time there. "I am sorry to say that I have a business appointment in the city a little later today, and I must unfortunately leave soon to prepare for it. How much do I owe you for the cost of recharging that gem?"

Spoiler: Insight or Deception DC 35

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The statement that he has a business meeting is not a lie, but there's an odd flash of... humor as he says the words. Something in what he said amused him, as though he was telling himself a private joke.

Serhe

Tarro's smile remains in place; if anything, it grows slightly sharper. "Ser, Ser, what kind of brother would I be if I didn't check in on my little brother? After all, you're representing the Nihilo name when you go out Heroing; it's my duty as your elder to ensure that you bring honor to the family name."

He sighs theatrically. "But I see that you just want to be left alone; too important for your big brother already, huh? I suppose you were bound to get a swelled head, with all of your teachers crowing your accomplishments to the rooftops." Tarro's smile fades slightly as he fixes you with a solid stare. "Okay then, how about we make a deal. You land one punch on me--one good, solid hit--and I won't bother you for the rest of your stay here. And, just to show how good of a brother I am, I'll let you in on one of the little secrets of Hope Academy. You've been there what, a month now? Surely you've found some secrets of your own already, but I'm sure you don't know this one."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica nodded slowly. That made sense. Flux crystals were...weird to work with. As she understood it, anyway. Obviously, her first-hand experience hadn't been the same, but then, that was why their powers were special in the first place.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy takes back the Flux crystal without an outward twitch. Inside, however, he is raising mental eyebrows at the man's description of utilizing his powers on Flux crystals. Perhaps the boy's enhancement of Flux has made his relationship with it more intimate than normal, to bring up such a reaction. But his gut reaction to Will's description is mild repulsion: "claiming" something's properties, "forcefully steal"...urgh.

"I understand your reason for wanting to purchase a full crystal," he says with a polite smile that is no more or less forthright than needs be. He lists a price for the enchantment that is appropriate to the time and effort spent in its creation [aka Thokk doesn't want to think of how much it'd be in dollars]--perhaps a bit higher than normal, but only fractionally. And the man seems like he'd consider it worth the price.

[Zelphas]

Roy and Erica

Smiling, Will pays the sum Roy stated, laying out the coins neatly in a pile on the table. A moment later, he places down a second, larger pile of coins next to the first. "Consider this a down-payment for whatever you decide to make for me to purchase fully," he says, holding up a hand to forestall objections. "I have no doubt it will be well worth the coin. I should be back in Hope for business in three months. If you are finished by then, please come to see me at this address; it is a temporary office I hire out when I need it in town." A small card emblazoned with Will's name and an address somewhere in the business quarter of town is placed atop the larger pile of coins, and Will rises to go. "It has been a genuine pleasure speaking to the three of you, and I wish that I could stay longer; alas, duty calls to us all, does it not?" Making his goodbyes, Will takes his leave.

Spoiler: Investigation OR Expertise (Flux) OR Expertise (Outer Ring) DC 32 (You can Aid each other on this check)

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About a month later, your perusal of news related to flux crystals brought up an odd discovery; several large crystals were apparently stolen from a convoy bringing them to the construction of the new flux aqueduct in the Outer Ring. The theft was first discovered when the crystals were unloaded at the Outer Ring island, but investigators assume that the theft actually occurred long before that time. One of the guards on the convoy, when interrogated, mentioned a "charming voice in his head" in Hope while the convoy was passing through there; the man is somewhat fuzzy on the details, but he remembers the "voice" telling him to do something, and then being paid by a "charming man" a few minutes later. He remembered the interaction, but didn't note it as anything strange until he was interrogated.

ONE MONTH LATER

Serhe didn't return from the three-day weekend; a sparring accident with his brother left him with a non-life-threatening but still debilitating injury, and his family had decided to keep him at home until he was fully recovered. Annihilus received some censure from the Heroes Guild for his recklessness, but was back to active duty within a week.

A week or two after that, Connor was taken out of classes as well. Something had come up in True Ashpah, it seems, and Connor was demanded back; given the strained relationship between Ashpah in general and the World Council, it was decided that this small concession could be made, and Connor was eager to return to his home to help.

This left the Stonesmith siblings in a bit of a strange situation; bereft of half their Cell, you spent the next two weeks pairing with other Cells in their class for training exercises. This ranged in experience from annoying (Tsubaki stepped out of Erica's shadow during one obstacle course and caused a five-Hero pileup on the finish line, which she also mysteriously evaded) to disastrous (There's not enough proof for this, but you think Bernhard might have managed to set Roy on fire. While he was underwater). Plans were apparently being made to get the Stonesmiths some new Cell-mates, but for now, you were on your own.

"...and in recent years, the number of Villains-turned-Heroes via the Scorch-Entropy Accords has increased by approximately 12.46% in the last twenty years, resulting in a pseudo-stabilization of the so-called 'high-risk' Outer Ring settlements due to..."

Actually, at the moment, you are getting a lecture on everyone's least favorite subject in class: recent political history. The mid-fall air is crisp and cool outside, with just the slightest hint of the last warm breath of summer coloring the sky a breathtaking powder blue. It's a perfect day to be outside, but you are all stuck in class, listening to Renatus drone on and on about the seemingly minuscule changes in policy and procedure that have occurred in the Inner and Outer Rings in the past twenty years.

Spoiler: Insight DC 17

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Manus and Bernhard are about to go insane with this boring lecture, and everyone realizes that at noon today Renatus becomes a viable attack target once again. Nancy, Marius, and Donald look like if anyone else starts a fight, they'd be willing to join in.

it is currently 11:59, according to the Supernaturalist-built clock on the wall.

Spoiler: DC 22

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Renatus is a brilliant teacher; he can make anything sound interesting. He's being boring on purpose, and you see his grin widen when he glances over at Manus or Bernhard. He's looking for a fight.

[Thokk_Smash]

After the money is placed down, and after Will has left, Roy stares at the coins with conflicting emotions. "I'm not sure about that guy," he says finally. He doesn't let his views on Will color the rest of their day together with their mother; he acts like Will hadn't even been a thing.

The money is separated from the rest of their funds, and he doesn't touch it for weeks. When he reads the newspaper a month later before classes, he finally makes up his mind about Will Savage.

---

THE FATEFUL DAY...

Even Roy is having a hard time focusing in class today. The biggest contribution to keeping him awake is the need to keep his visor's recording trained on Renatus, and even then, he's debating turning it off and laying his head down for some blissful darkness.

Erica kept mentally nudging him, though, so he keeps his wits about him and keeps focused on Renatus. The smirking, the intentionally-boring lecture...is Renatus trying to start a fight?

~"Well, we could always oblige him,"~ he thinks to Erica with a mental smirk.

Wrapping his lethargy around him like a cloak, Roy casts his consciousness out like a net. In his mind's eye, the entire class is coated in the same lethargy, the same deep ennui, interspersed with anger, frustration, and exasperation to taste for the person. Tapping into that shared boredom, Roy speaks into their minds, ~"So...anyone else wanna beat the sh*t outta that stupid face?"~

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica kinda shrugged in answer. Sure, Will was definitely a bit uh intense was the word, but well anybody who brought a smile to her mom's face was pretty much aces with her. That he showed such interest in her and her brother's Flux Gemstones if anything made her happy!

When they heard about the theft though...she honestly didn't want to believe it. And really the evidence was pretty circumstantial. But...well, the thing was, much though she might have been positively-disposed towards Will Savage at the time, her instincts had still been giving her some vibes, and those vibes came back ten times over when they learned about the theft. Charming certainly described Will, and given what his power could do...and the crystal Roy had given him...

But why would he resort to stealing Flux crystals? Especially ones that were going to be used in the creation of a new Aqueduct!

Erica didn't understand. But Will Savage planned to meet with them again. And she intended to confront him on the subject when he did. He may have had a cool power, but they were students of Hope Academy! It was not wise to try to play a pair of Heroes, in-training or not!

--

Serhe and Connor leaving...actually hit Erica surprisingly hard. It wasn't like they had known the two long, or even gotten to know them all that well, it was just...well, honestly? Erica hadn't really had many people she could rightly call friends in her life. Back on their home island there had been kids she had played with and hung out with, sure, but calling them friends would have been a fair sight too generous. And after that, she hadn't really had much opportunity to make friends.

But Serhe and Connor...they had worked well together, she enjoyed their company, and there just...hadn't been any baggage there. No false fronts, no veneers of sincerity masking disdain. Their relationship might not have been all that close, as of yet, but it had been positive and it had been real. Losing it hurt.

The size and roominess of Battle Dorm, originally a non-trivial selling-point, began to feel more like a downside. It felt all too empty, with just the two of them there. Alone but for each other. Again.

It certainly didn't help that they were kinda being passed back and forth between the other Cells for training exercises. She and Roy had earned top points in the Entrance Exam, their Cell had led in total points for the first week's challenges and achieved the special objective, and they had acquitted themselves well in a live-fire combat situation and...well, at least partially prevented a breakout that would have otherwise been conducted under the noses of the top Cell in the city. Again and again, their accomplishments let them stand out even among the elite students selected for training at Hope Academy. Nobody could say they were powerless anymore, that they were too weak.

But she couldn't help but feel like it didn't matter! Logically, rationally, she knew it was just a matter of circumstance. They were down to half a Cell, so until that could be rectified, they needed to do things a bit differently. But that didn't stop it from feeling like it had been back in the Magellans. Alone. Isolated. The weak ones. Maybe not personally now, but at half-strength, they simply weren't up to the level of a full Cell, couldn't be expected to face challenges on their own. Picked last for the team. Loads accepted out of charity, rather than chosen by their merits. Erica always dreaded being paired with Nancy's Cell. Back in the final challenge of the first week, when Nancy had been assigned to join their Cell, Erica had felt some sympathy for her for just these reasons. Nancy had placed last in the Entrance Exam and her Cell had finished in fifth during challenge week (even with the boost from being on the dominantly-winning side for the final challenge). Ranks and points weren't everything, but they did matter. And a young woman with the social acumen of Nancy Keroack certainly wouldn't miss the symbolic upending of them when the two were assigned to join her Cell for a training exercise. It all just reminded her too much of how it had been when they were children.

But, Erica had faced far worse circumstances than this in her young life, and she did what any Hero - what any human - would do when faced with troubled times. She rose to meet them. While at night alone in Battle Dorm she'd talk with and vent to her brother about the situation, the face she showed the school remained confident, poised, and above all friendly. She took advantage of working with the different Cells to try to get to know the other students better, make friends despite the competitive nature of the school (in addition to continuing the previously-established Operation: Make Friends through Pool Parties). Although to be fair, she probably hung out most often with Dawnlight's Cell. Dawnlight was just fun, she seemed to have at least something of a rapport with Jane, and she was even trying to figure out a way to improve on Elita's mask; her artifice should do a better job than any Enhancement at keeping her Transformative powers at bay, but the trick was making sure she didn't suppress them so hard that it became difficult to use them in battle. But the more she thought about it the more she thought that - as was often the case - it would be the synergy between her and her twin's powers that would do the job best. Keeping the mask's function Enhanced would allow it to still do the job but not so well that it hampers her, but enchanting the Flux crystals and putting some preservative enchantments on the mask itself would help make sure her Transformative powers didn't degrade the Enhancements, which should substantially increase the efficiency...

--

This was a travesty. An absolute travesty.

Erica enjoyed learning! She enjoyed history! Politics okay she could take or leave but still! This lecture was so mind-numbingly boring that even her constant stream of telepathic chatter with Roy was made boring by proximity! It was like she wanted to make it not-boring so she tried to chatter about it and that was how it got you!

But even Erica hadn't expected that Renatus had managed to make the lecture so uniquely boring, so perfectly boring, such a Platonic ideal of utter and complete boring, that Roy would be able to use it as a thaumaturgical connection to make telepathic contact to the other bored students.

Just how powerful was Professor Renatus!?

Ahem.

Erica had gotten soft commitments from most of the class to work together to bring down Renatus. There were a few holdouts...but the good news was, the majority of those seemed particularly primed to fight right now. And if they could get the rest of the class to agree, she was pretty sure she knew how to bring Ediz on board. ~Eighteen to one, and the communication speed offered by Roy's telepathy gives us over a subjective hour to plan, and it can't be overheard even by other telepaths. He'll expect an attack, certainly. He might even expect all of us to try our hands. But even he might not expect us all to go at him as a cohesive unit, working together as a team!~

~And, um, also? We know most of his powers.~

[Zelphas]

"...Have been raised regarding the viability of having a non-trivial number of formerly criminal Heroes policing the Outer Ring, but years of good behavior and several case studies have rendered these concerns largely..."

The boredom in the room lessens noticeably as Roy and Erica make their announcement. Roy feels the connection wobble as each member of the class responds to the idea differently: trepidation, excitement, caution, annoyance... the drone of Renatus is still strong, and the connection stabilizes once more, but Roy can feel the strain as the spell of boredom begins to break. Most of the class reaffirms their earlier agreement with Erica, with only a few voicing markedly different opinions or other suggestions.

An hour to plan? Man, I think three times this fast all the time! One of the possible bonuses that came from working with all of the other Cells in your class was finding out who the other people around you were beyond first impressions. Spending time with Dawnlight, Elita, and (when she could be found) Jane Doe meant at least running into Donald on occasion, and these meetings had taught the Stonesmiths that Donald isn't a cruel or spiteful person; he's just... an idiot. With an unshakable sense of self-worth, and a pathological inability to realize when other people don't agree with his idea of 'fun'. Which might make things worse, actually. In any case, his contribution to the discussion is roundly ignored by the group.

I don't care what you do; just stay out of my way, Bernhard and Manus think almost in unison, the most obviously hostile of the group. In the physical classroom, the two catch each others' eye and nod silently, their faces impassive. Nancy manages to convey an imperious sniff through the mental link, but otherwise says nothing. She is the only member of the class who still looks like she is attentively listening to Renatus' lecture, though her watchful eyes seem to be looking everywhere at once, measuring, calculating.

A full two seconds tick by on the clock before Ediz speaks over the mental link. All right; let me hear what you have, and I'll see if there's a plan to be made there.

[Quellian-dyrae]

A flicker of a smirk crossed Erica's face when Ediz spoke. He was smart, sure, and she'd welcome his input, but he was far from the only one capable of coming up with a plan.

~So, he's a psionic Supernaturalist. His powerset isn't actually that far off from yours baseline, Ediz, although obviously he has...more options. He can mentally detect basically anything in a thousand feet. He's capable of mentally deflecting pretty much any hostile attack that has a physical or energy aspect and travels at less than half the speed of light, although he didn't really do that last time so he might need a moment to set it up. He can attack with mental blasts. He can...pretty much ignore any physical damage that any of us will likely be able to throw at him baseline, so we'll need to strike hard if we want to hurt him at all. He also has a rapid healing factor. His body's completely mutable to his will; last time, Roy punched him right in the face and he just kinda...flowed around it. I'm honestly still not entirely sure what he was actually doing there. And he can psychoport several hundred feet.~

~Last time we attacked him, he defended with incredible speed and agility. We were lucky to hit him at all, frankly. And it took Serhe a couple shots to turn his power off, and Serhe has...an incredibly strong power. However, he's not all that physically resilient compared to his other capabilities; my armor can honestly probably take more of a beating, all told. So the real trick is just going to be hitting him in the first place. If we can manage that, and bring enough force to bear to actually make him feel it at all, it shouldn't take too many hits to bring him down.~

~So we want an overwhelming attack, especially in the opening moments of the battle where his active defenses may not be up yet. We want to scatter after that. He'll be able to take us down individually, but as long as we don't cluster up for him to hit with area attacks, there's enough of us that we should be able to wear him down through sheer numbers. Anything anyone can do to slow him down early would be ideal, but after that...honestly, I think the best strategy is just to hammer on and try to punch through.~

~But, I mean, there's eighteen of us, and we're students of Hope! If we can pull this off here, now, in like literally the first minute we're allowed to try? We will be setting an almost literally unbeatable record! Let the generations to follow try to live up to the example we set! It won't be easy, I'm not going to pretend otherwise, but it's sure as anything worth trying, and honestly, given what I've seen of everybody here over the past couple of months? Mists take it, I think we can pull it off!~

Spoiler: OOC

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So, while Erica fully intends to Inspire the group, that's not really something you can really...discuss as part of a plan in-character . So that last speechy bit there is kinda meant to symbolically present it by pumping people up.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy keeps silent with the strain of maintaining the impromptu mental connection. Feeling the brand new mental voices brings a stab of sorrow at the lack of Connor and Serhe's voices. The departure of one half of their team was a blow keenly felt by the mad genius-type. He misses Connor's stolid sense of humor, and Serhe's dry commentaries.

He pushes his sorrow to the back of his mind. ~"I'll be starting off with an attack that can give a bit of defense to anyone within thirty feet of me. If anyone wants to fire off a super powerful attack, I can use that to cover you from any targeted attacks Renatus makes. Unfortunately, it won't protect you if you move further than thirty feet away from me, so it's up to you whether to stay close or scatter."~

~"As for Renatus' ability to mold his body, it's super weird. It's like as long as he knows where an attack is coming from, he can reshape his body so there's nothing to hit where you hit. The guy's a monster, but I mean, c'mon--it's eighteen on one, and I've got something up my sleeve to make him distracted right before we attack."~

Roy's been secretly testing Renatus' range of hearing, and finally found a pitch where the teacher can't hear. Right after, he found a family of bunnies near the school grounds and began to train them to respond to the sound. Their first assault will be an attack of ADORABLENESS!

Spoiler

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Spending a HP to Edit Scene the above scenario to be implemented right before the fight starts.

[Zelphas]

Spoiler: Erica (Assuming that you have Arcane Resonance Active) Insight DC 20 (Nested)

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As you compare Renatus' powers to Ediz, you catch a flicker of... something in his emotions. Surprise? Confusion? Guilt? Fear? ...Hope? It's a massive welter of complicated emotions, all stuffed away quickly behind his usual veneer of superiority tinged by intellectual greed.

Spoiler: DC 25

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Actually, you've noticed similar flashes of strong, mixed emotions from Ediz now and again in the past two months, mostly when he is under a lot of pressure or in the few occasions where he seemed happy. He's managed mostly to stay in a realm of detachment, but when his emotions do surface they seem... younger than he is. Somehow.

"...And now, before the festivities begin, let me remind you all that it is very important to..."

Hmm... Ediz responds, taking a moment that lasts less than half of a second to consider your words. Morgan, you can hit pressure points, right? Nevermind, don't answer, I know you can. Do that. MacDonald, you can make that moving jungle to slow things down on his end--

Not unless y'all like takin' second place on the food chain, Farhan cuts in, his mental voice dry. My beauties don't eat me, but they ain't gonna care who else they take a chomp at.

Um...

I can call up a storm to block his eyes, at least, Doireann chimes in, her voice smug. It'll batter away at his body, too--without hitting anyone else.

Well, lah di dah, don't you think--

Um... what...

Good, that should work, then, Keleman, Ediz overrides Farhan. Daniels, why don't you--

Dawnlight! the golden-haired girl's voice trills across the connection.

...is there anything...

Fine, Dawnlight. Power up Stonesmith. Either Stonesmith; they have the most versatile attacks, Ediz continues. Everyone else should just pile on with the attacks and hope for the best. Oh, actually, Meroack, block us all from his perception at first to give us an edge.

...

Doe, take Nancy's power and block his perception of us.

O-oh... I...

Fine! Whatever. Erica, and through the link Roy, can physically feel the spike of hatred that courses through Nancy at that moment, but no one else seems to notice.

Good. That squares away something of a battle plan, then. Oh, Siladi and Brock will probably just spit fireballs and try to punch Mr. Weiss in the head, so make sure that they don't foul up your attacks. Bernhard and Manus both begin radiating extreme anger before vanishing from the link, their fury finally overcoming their boredom.

Ediz pauses for a full tick on the clock, and the next message seems to be sent with extreme reluctance. Anything to add, Stonesmiths?

Spoiler: OOC

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All right, if you go with Ediz's plan, I wil lbe able to roll everyone's attacks fairly simply. However, in case you want to plan something different (and to possibly spare myself the headache of running so many sheets at once), I'm going to give you the sheets of some of your classmates so that you can plan around them. If you'd prefer not to know their sheets, just let me know and I can delete them from here.

Here they are:

Doireann Keleman
Calvin Squires
Wyn Glazier

Farhan Macdonald
Lucy Norwood
Marius Amato

Patroclus Belluomo

Grace Daniels/Dawnlight
Elita Coste
Donald Morgan


If you do decide to look at the sheets, feel free to roll the attacks for those characters to spare me from doing it better control their actions... is what I meant.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy holds back a wince when he feels Bernhard's rage over the link. He's glad the connection cut out immediately after. He's never had much fun with Bernhard's anger.

He pushes past it. Roy's mind races with ideas as he mentally reviews his classmates' abilities. ~"Sounds like a solid outline, Ediz,"~ he thinks with his typical bombast. ~"Dawnlight, hit me with the boost. Erica will be a bit too distracted to fully make use of it. Lucy, back me up when I go after him with my first attack. Farhan, Wyn, just hammer him with your respective elements. Everyone, just keep in mind I'll be protecting y'all against targeted attacks if you stay close."~

Quietly, to the faint presence he can barely register, he thinks, ~"I'm sorry, Jane, but I don't know enough about your powers to really direct you on what to do. Erica and I have gotta remember to fix that, though! I swear it!"~

[Quellian-dyrae]

~We shouldn't all cluster around Roy though. The professor's main mode of attack is direct mental blasts, which shields won't help much against. I'm not certain if he can attack multiple minds at once, or cast other area attacks, but it's probably safe to assume he can. If we cluster, he can wipe us all out quickly.~

~I think some additional emphasis needs to be placed on his ability to alter his body to avoid attacks. His body is literally a projection of his mind, and he can alter it however he wishes and at the speed of thought. It's probably best to think of him more like a cohesive mass of individual cells than a single solid object. We need some way to lock that down, or he's going to be able to avoid a lot of our attacks. Could you do that, Jane? Like...make him forget to alter his shape, or something? Or maybe Lucy could do something to make his body freeze up a bit when we attack him?~

~I also wouldn't advise hitting him with area blasts. The energy's too diffuse; his physical resilience is probably sufficient to take pretty much any basic shot any of us can throw at him completely unharmed. We need to put as much power as we can into as condensed a package as possible to damage him. Hampering his vision or movement also won't do much; he can detect our minds and teleport from place to place.~

~We need to hammer him, yeah, but just all going at him won't do it. We need to work together. Before, it took all four of us just to land a single hit on him, Roy and I setting things up and Serhe blocking his powers to open the way for Connor. That's what we have to do here. Work together to set things up for a few of us to hit him really hard. My brother enhanced by Dawnlight will make a really solid attack; Elita, you and I can lend weight to it. That'll be a strong opening. We want to keep it going like that. A full Cell, working together, can hurt him. Have four Cells pulling such moves in tandem...we can take him down.~

[Thokk_Smash]

~"Lucy can probably manage it better, right? No offense, Jane. Sounds like we've got all the bases covered, now. So once the clock strikes noon, I'll release the hounds--er, I mean, bunnies."~

The second both hands on the clock align, Roy discreetly presses a button on his gauntlet. Outside, nearby, a family of brown-furred bunnies emerges from its hole. They make a great show of prancing in the field, simply too adorable not to enjoy the sight of.

Spoiler

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Springing the trap of adorableness on the professor!

[Zelphas]

"...that you can always try..." Renatus' droning voice mercifully trails away as a pair of adult rabbits hop uncertainly out of their burrow, their tiny noses twitching as they scent the air for danger. Moments later, approximately a dozen tiny balls of brown fur tumble out of the hole in the ground, the little bunnies much less cautious than their parents as they frolic in the mid-autumn sunshine. "Good start..."

In Erica's visor, the room comes alive with different emotions: eagerness, apprehension, fear, anger, relief, amusement, and something that can only be described as "cuteness proximity overload" all appear in her classmates, the riot of emotional "color" completely eradicating the boredom felt by all beforehand. Roy feels the mental connection overload and snap in an instant as the thaumaturgic connection between his classmates vanishes... but someone continues to speak inside everyone's head.

If we're discarding Mr. Stonesmith's protective field, I can lay down one of my own; it can cover all of us here without issue, Ediz lays out in tense tones, speaking quickly even over the mental link. Communication will be down for approximately five seconds as I create the field; I suggest that we 'cut loose'. A moment later, a transparent purplish barrier spreads over the classroom, wrapping around everyone except for the teacher and clinging to them in a way that, despite having neither physical weight nor substance, still feels oddly heavy and damp.

Spoiler: OOC

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Map.

Ediz is jumping the gun here and using Reject Damage on the group. Everyone is in range for him, and is Deflected at a max of 1d10+18.

Battle is starting; you get the first move. Go!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler

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For the moment at least, I'mma go ahead and control Lucy, Wyn, and Elita to set Roy up. Thokk said he wants to control Dawnlight to do the buff. I might do another post later this round if there's anyone left on our list that nobody else wants to control.

Aside from Lucy's Power Stunt, I'm working on the assumption that we can't freely Extra Effort for our classmates. If I am wrong about this please let me know and I'll go back and have these guys do a surge, because there is otherwise precisely zero reason not to Extra Effort when you have Inspire 5 on.

Erica swept to her feet, Prism Edge ringing from its sheath. "The school's policy promotes competition among the Cells. I've never been entirely sure why that is, but I have a theory."

"I think it's because when you take a score of teenagers with Hero-level superpowers and put them in a confined space for months on end, competition is just going to happen."

"And normally, sure, a bit of competition is healthy. It's good. But there are times when it becomes a problem."

"Our enemy today is more powerful than any of us by a wide margin. He took everything our Cells could throw at him, one after another, competing to earn the glory. The sum total of damage he received was a single bonk on the head by a rock!"

"This enemy is unbeatable to any single Cell in direct combat. But guess what? So are most Tribs! And Heroes already know how to handle them - by swallowing their pride, setting aside their differences, and working together!"

"It's an important lesson to learn. But we're the next generation of the Heroes of Hope! And we don't need an entire school year to figure it out! ATTACK!" Erica had upgraded her armor; there was no gradual building shimmer. One moment, she was wearing a loose, flowing periwinkle dress, and the next, she was fully covered in gleaming steel, and Prism Edge had split into two slender scimitars.

The white-flecked blue crystal on her belt shone brightly, resonating with Roy's similar crystal to empower their attacks. As soon as Roy began attacking, she rode the resonance over to the teacher, suddenly teleporting to his position and striking with a rapid flurry of powerful blows. The resonance would ripple out from their weapons, a disruptive force that could damage even insubstantial foes.

Even as she did, the air grew chill as Lucy shifted into the form of the Wraith. Her transformation this time was...different than usual. The temperature in the room dropped precipitously, as she poured icy spectral energy into the others. The ghostly power would allow their attacks to contend with spirits on their own terms, and the absolute cold would, well, do precisely what cold always did to altered states of matter - shift them back towards solid, restricting the movement of molecules - or cells. Finally, the spectral energy would strike at the life force directly. It took quite a bit of energy, but left her enough to still strike a foe's life force herself, and concentrate on flying a bit more easily.

Wyn unleashed a blast of sand at Renatus; it was mainly meant to distract - and should do that job well, since as an Elemental attack, it was one he might not lightly ignore. Then he shot out of the room.

Elita charged in along with Erica, unloading a focused blast of noxious vapor at Renatus, timing her attack along with the twins to maximize the impact.

Ediz's shield allowed them all to attack with maximum aggression. Didn't need an entire year indeed! Roy's opening attack would be backed up by the power of at least one member of all five of the class's Cells!

Spoiler

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Lucy:
Move: Enter Wraith form.
Extra Effort - Power Stunt off of "Ghostly Chill".

Chill of the Wraith: Enhanced Extra 6 (Up to two effects gain Affects Insubstantial 2 and Variable Descriptor [Spectral]; Affects Others Only, Burst Area 2, Continuous, Precise); Damage 6 ([Spectral], Alternate Resistance [Fortitude], Accurate 5); Remove Distracting from four ranks of Flight.

Standard: Use the Enhanced Extra of Chill of the Wraith. Up to two effects on everyone's attacks gain Affects Insubstantial 2 and Variable Descriptor [Spectral]. She uses Precise to lower the burst enough that it doesn't hit Renatus. She needs to stay on-slot to maintain it, but since it's Continuous the effect will persist even if she goes down. Spectral is a [Mystical] descriptor targeting the spirit directly, so if my paranoia is on point and he actually does have some ludicrous Physical/Energy immunity instead of or on top of Insubstantial, that should get around it.

Erica:
Standard: Spend a Hero Point for Inspire 5!
Move: As soon as Roy begins attacking, Teleport into M3.
Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Attack Renatus with Flux Skirmisher as a Team Attack with Roy and Elita. All Out Attack for 5, +5 for Teamwork, at (1d20+18)[27]. On a hit, Roy's Toughness-resisted Damage and Fortitude-resisted Affliction gets +2, +5 on a hit by three degrees. In addition, the Damage has a Secondary Effect, so its bonus may also apply to Elita's Secondary Effect Damage.

Wyn:
Standard: Aid Roy's attack with "Sandblast", All Out Attack for 5, +5 for Inspire, at (1d20+18)[25]. On anything but a 1, Roy gets +5 to hit as long as his attack is made within Close range. +5
(If he's allowed an Extra Effort it will go here.)
Move: Out of the room, let's say 300' away.

Elita:
Athletics to Improve Speed: (1d20)[3]. lol
Move: Into J4, or M2 if the check succeeds.
Standard: Charge into M2 unless the check succeeds (add +2 to attack if so) and attack with "Tear Gas" as a Team Attack with Roy and Erica, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 2, +5 for Teamwork, +5 for Inspire, presumed -2 for Charge, at (1d20+21)[31]. On a hit, contributes more degrees to Roy's Toughness-resisted Damage and Fortitude-resisted Affliction. In addition, note that both effects have Secondary Effect (and the Damage has Multiattack), so the base effects will repeat next round.
(If she's allowed an Extra Effort it will go here.)

[Hyperbolic sine]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

So, giving that no one had any particular claim I decided to pick randomly. Guess who rolled two ones?

I shall be controlling Doireann, Calvin and Marius. Also, let me know if I misintepreted the fluff of any power, and forgive me for the barebone post, but I'm not familiar enough with the characters for banter and stuff.

As soon as Erica called the attack, Calvin and Marius started shapeshifting while Doireann gathered a storm winds around her. Then, she outstretched her hand, unleashed a crackling bolt of lightning and let the winds carry her outside, while Clìalvin attacked with spines and Marius charged the teacher.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Calvin
Move: Activate powers.
Standard: All-out Power Attack at (1d20+13)[19], Toughness DC 28 vs Damage, Fortitude DC 23 vs Hinderd+Vulnerable/Immobile+Defenceless.

Doireann
Standard: All-out Power Attack at (1d20+15)[28], Toughness DC 26 vs Damage, Fortitude DC 21 vs Cumulative Dazed/Stunned (auto-resisted if Damage is resisted, Secondary Effect).
Move: M16 -> Z18

Vulnerable this round.

Marius
Move: Activate powers.
Standard: Charge, All-out Attack at (1d20+14)[24], Toughness DC 25 vs Damage, Fortitude DC 20 vs Weaken Will.

[Thokk_Smash]

During Erica's speech, Roy's armor begins to materialize. "Dawnlight, if you would, please," he says, and suddenly the gauntlets on his hands morph into a gleaming, crystalline whip. Dawnlight extends her hand and the whip is enveloped in a soft white light, and when it dies down the whip has veins of soft green interlacing the chrome of its length.

"EXCELSIOR!"

With a bellow that is as much to resonate with Erica's signal as to psyche everyone up, Roy leaps at the teacher, his whip crackling with electricity and the power of himself and Dawnlight combined. When he strikes, it is with the opportunity given by Wyn, and timed precisely with his sister and Elita's attacks to maximize his power!

Spoiler

Show

Dawnlight
Standard action: Variable on Roy: Chromite Chorus loses its Create, gains Affliction 8 (DC 18 Fort vs Impaired+Vulnerable+Dazed/Disabled+Defenseless+Stunned, Extra Condition 2, Concentration, Insidious, Improved Critical 4, Affects Insubstantial 2, Limited Degree, and I guess Precise because whynot)

Move action: Into M24, Distracted from Flight (but Deflected from Ediz)

Roy
Move action: Into N3
Standard action: Team Attack with Chromite Chorus, +5 from Team Attack, +5 Inspire, +5 AoA, -5 PA for (1d20+18)[31] vs DC 28+Team Attack Toughness Damage, DC 23+Team Attack Fort Impaired+Vulnerable+Dazed/Disabled+Defenseless+Stunned. Affliction crits on a 16+ Should be a hit, DCs end up being DC 30 Toughness, DC 25 Fort

Extra Effort: DO IT AGAIN! +5 Inspire, +5 AoA, -5 PA for (1d20+13)[31] vs DC 28 Damage, DC 23 Fort Impaired+Vulnerable+Dazed/Disabled+Defenseless+Stunned, critting on a 16+ DC 28 Damage, and CRIT! DC 28 Fort

Free action: Stare in fascination at the sudden change in appearance and demeanor of their professor.

Everyone who is within 30ft of Roy is Deflected at 1d10+24 (+2 from Improved Defense on Chromite Chorus, Inspire and AoA cancel out), -1 per point of Toughness above 4. Any targeted attack Deflected by Roy's Deflect is Redirected at the attacker.

Status: Fine, Fatigued next round, Deflected at 1d10+24
HP: 1
Luck: 4/4