Episode 5: When the Knights Go Marching In

[welian]

​

Thursday, April 26, 2040
Time: 2:15pm

Weather: Sunny and windy

News: Social media is all abuzz after the latest episode of The Bellwether Review, a mediocre Annapolis-based talk show that people only started watching last year when a rumor went around that the host got a boob job and started wearing low-cut, translucent blouses on camera (it was true).

It’s hard to tell what people are more outraged about – that Stacy Bellwether is suing her plastic surgeon for “implanting a homing beacon that will summon extraterrestrial dragons to consume [her] soul”; or the fact that this week’s guest was a young man named Landon Brown, a self-proclaimed member of the Knights of Raguel with a stylish gray suit and dapper pseudo-hipster fauxhawk, who nodded sympathetically while listening to Stacy describe the sound of her breasts in avid detail, and wholeheartedly encouraged her to purchase his self-help book co-written by Raguel herself.

By purchasing this book and reading it, Landon suggested, Ms. Bellwether might uncover the truth within the truth and find a way to fight back this insidious takeover of this fine, God-fearing country by godless liberals and subhuman supers. And, if she felt so inclined, the Knights would be exceedingly grateful for donations to cover to the funerary costs of one of their own fine men, who lost his life in the line of duty while protecting innocent civilians from a rampaging thug who escaped the insecure Commonwealth HQ in Baltimore back in the winter.

Apparently the episode ended with Landon and Stacy handing out 75% coupons for brand-name tinfoil.

Agenda
After the jailbreak, things were crazy in Baltimore for several weeks - and they still are, to an extent. Most of the superpowered fugitives have been tracked down and recaptured by a combination of traditional law enforcement, Commonwealth, and vigilantes.

And, unfortunately, the Knights. It turns out, whoever is behind their marketing - probably this Landon douche who showed his face on live TV over the weekend - is really, really good at their job. Public opinion is still split on who killed the teenaged girl at Owens Mill Mall in January, if it was really the Knights who snapped that poor girls neck, or if they were trying to apprehend her peacefully after a shoplifting spree and it was the incompetent and overpowered buffoons at Facility 108 who caused the girl's demise.

The seemingly willful ignorance of the public (and the media, as always, portraying two opinions as equal in merit), however, appears to breathed a new sort of life into many students across the entire East Coast. Aegis enrollment figures have fallen slightly, but the proportion of incoming students who sign up to become Blue Card trainees has sharply risen. Even Commonwealth, in its own lumbering, bloated, bureaucratic hellhole style appears to be faintly optimistic, as Stoneface Scarlet has signed off on a temporary waiver for first-time registration of vigilantes.

This is probably, definitely, in no way whatsover, related to the fact that spring is when most Aegis facilities across the nation host their spring finals. It is complete and total coincidence that May is traditionally when Facility 108 has turned the entire shipyard into an elaborate obstacle course of doom, and forces outgoing students to run the gauntlet to prove their impeccable control and focus to the world at large.


"Hey, pipsqueak!"

Landon took his sunglasses off as he stepped into the warehouse, and took a sip of his venti soy extra hot no foam latte. The borderline-reflective the weird pale pastel goth girl was right where she usually was, up in the rafters trying to fix cables and other weird electrical shit while Dr. Whats-his-face yelled instructions at her from across the room, because apparently the budget for miniguns and grenades was more important than buying minutes on a TracPhone.

"I don't what the hell you put in these, but they worked. I totally got her number, too." He held up an orange plastic bottle and rattled it. Pastel Goth Bitch did not acknowledge his existence, but that was okay. She was creepy, and he still had nightmares about walking into the bathroom and seeing three identical soulless faces staring back at him.

He left, before anyone got any ideas about asking him any favors.

 

[ManicMuse]

Page Morgan

location : Yoga studio >> SPA


State of being: Zen and hating boys


Nearby: No one

"Slow deep inhale. Feel that stretch, deep in the base of your sacral charka. Let the heat of the room surround you like a warm blanket of security."


Many of the people in the room were straining to hold their poses, with beads of sweat streaming down their faces. Their clothing had patches, where sweat had soaked through. A few of them had even built little lakes of moisture on the mats beneath their feet. The current pose was suppose to be a raised crane, putting all weight upon the forearms and resting knees lightly upon the inner arm. Many in the room were fit enough for such an advanced pose, but the heat of 'Intense Heat Yoga' made it so few wished to risk the chance of falling flat on their face.

Water bottles half empty and towels for the buckets of sweat lost; all of the members of the class appeared fatigued and had a warm red hue. In the back row of the room, a stout redhead seemed slightly different than the rest. Her feet hovered a few inches off the ground, showing she was still not entirely confident with the pose. What really set her apart was the minimal sweat. While there was a few drops on her brow from effort, she did not seem effected by the heat. The long strands of her rich carrot toned hair sat neatly in a bun, wrapped in a powder pink scarf. It matched the powder pink tank top with a light blue racer back sports bra, that had visible straps that peeked out and matched perfectly with the blue yoga pants.

Eyes closed, she worked on her breathing, clearing her mind of the worries that came with life these days, enjoying the heat leeching the stress from her body. Even when class came to a close, Page was one of the last to clean up her stuff. She was rolling up her mat and pulling back on a shoe when someone standing a bit outside her field of vision caught her attention. Peering back up over her shoulder, a tall dark haired man gave a winning smile, "Ha, sorry. Are you busy? I did not want to distract you."

Tossing the mat over her shoulder by the strap, Page took his out stretched and climbed to her feet. "Well I'm done now. What did you need? It's Ralph, right?"

His eyes seemed to dazzle when she guessed his name correctly. "Yeah, Ralph. You're Page, right? I've seen you from time to time here the last few months."

"That would be me," giving a smirk, she felt her cheeks flush with color. At least she matched everyone else now.

"So I know this is kinda random and I don't know if it would be your thing but.." He paused trying to gauge her reaction. Staring up at him, Page did not seem put off, if anything just perplexed. This sort of thing never happened to her. "Would you mind passing my number onto Vicky?"

Page's face fell a bit looking to the small bit of paper in his hand, "Uh, yeah sure."

"Thanks, I just am a bit rusty. I really don't know how to break the ice, ya know. Flowers seem a bit pricey for an IF thing. Ha-ha." Ralph glanced to his watch. "Oh damn, I gonna go. Thanks uh-Page!"

Grabbing his gym bag on the back wall, Ralph made his way out of the duel glass doors. Page peered down at the paper in her hand. It burst in to flames and turned to dust before landing as speckled bits of ash on the ground. Waiting a few minutes, she left out the side door and headed off toward the coffee shop.

Page was still pretty upset about the encounter until the barista called her name. Once the first taste of the sugar-free mocha frap with heavy whipped cream touched her lips, the disappointment melted away. This was her day for relaxation, she had no intentions of letting some punk wanting to bone an airhead in yoga class mess up her day. A few blocks away from the yoga studio, with the icy sweet treat in hand, Page walked into the Spa. Coming to a girl dressed in white from head to toe behind the desk, she clicked on the touch screen computer and signed in.

Within a second the woman in white, turned to a shelving system behind her and pulled an equally white cotton robe and slippers out of the cubby.

"Welcome Miss Morgan! I see that you still have about 30 minutes until your appointment. Please feel free to get changed the rooms to your left. You are more than welcome to enjoy our sauna or pool while you wait."

Taking another sip off her drink, Page took the robe with a grin painted on her face, "That sounds perfect. Thank you. I am planning to meet my friend for the appointment. Can you please tell her I will be in the steam room if she needs me?"

"Of course Miss Morgan. Have a wonderful relaxing stay with us here today. Please let us know if you need anything."

A few minutes later, Page ducked out of a room, now sporting a white robe and slippers with a pineapple yellow and green bikini hidden beneath. Offering a wave to the receptionist, Page wandered down the hall through a stone archway, to a waterfall that cascaded down the entire length of the hall. In the center of the rippling wall of water was a list of directions for varying services.

Finding the one for the sauna, Page dipped off toward the right and soon found a large wooden door with steam wafting out from the bottom of the door. Peering around to ensure no one was watching, Page carefully juggled her drink while pulling off her robe and hanging it on an open slot. Then she pulled open the door, being met with a wave of warm foggy mist. It felt delightful. Disappearing inside, she flopped down onto an open wooden bench.

Now if only Luther would hurry up. If she was late again, Page was going to stuff her full of alarm clocks. Page still did not entirely understand why she had picked Luther as her person, but she had. Something about that fowl mouthed, woman made Page feel at ease in this crazy world. Maybe it was all the guns? Nah. It was having a person. Everyone needed a friend they knew they could count on and Luther was her person.

 

[Gus]

Manami Hamasaki
​

Location: Steam Room
Nearby: Page Morgan
Mood: Overheated and a little sad.
@s: ManicMuse Syrenrei


Manami tried to relax. She focused on her breath as father had taught her: in through the nose, pause, out through the mouth. The air in the steam room was humid at least, and that certainly helped to keep her gills moist, but the heat was almost unbearable. It had been mother's idea to get her a day at the spa, to relax before the beginning of exams. Ever eager to please, Manami had agreed to go without really understanding what it was she was signing up to do. Even now, gills flaring and scales ruffling in a vain effort to shed heat, she tried to relax. Ever since she had joined 108, she had felt the distance between her and her mother increasing, as gradually and inexorably as the spreading ocean ridge at the bottom of the Atlantic. Day by day, she found they had less and less to talk about. Fishing. Selling sushi at market. How was school? School was great mom, today we learned about legal ramifications of massive property damage, six different ways to disarm a gunman, and how to do emergency tracheotomies with improvised tools... ...how was the fish market? Did you learn any english yet? It really helps to get by in an english speaking country, you know...

She rested her cheeks in her palms and her elbows on her knees and stared sadly at the floor, waiting for her time in the sauna to be up. The door opened and a wave of delightfully cool air wafted in, stirring up the mist and obscuring the new arrival who sat down on the open bench across from Manami. As the air settled down and the mist thinned out a bit, she caught a glimpse of flame red hair. For a moment, she didn't recognize Ms. Morgan, having never seen her dressed in anything so revealing before. Normally at her most casual, on a weekend perhaps, she might come to the facility in yoga pants and a baggy sweater or hoodie. (Manami had, in fact, taken to wearing the same sort of clothes instead of her homemade bikini once she realized that covering up helped to avoid attracting stares and commentary.) Ms. Morgan though, was not scaly or blue, and was in fact quite striking. Manami thought to herself that if she was that pretty, she would wear her bikini everywhere she went!

Suddenly self conscious, she hunched into herself a little more, trying to occupy even less bench space than her already diminutive frame took up. Inevitably though, she was seen. Not wishing to be rude, when she caught Ms. Morgan's eye, she waved tentatively.

“Hello Ms. Morgan. Do you like to spa often? Today is my first time. I do not know if I like it or not. It is very hot for me in here. I am trying to relax before the final test.”

 

[Natealie]

All of reality is based upon our perceptions. Moreover, all of reality is based upon what we believe. Each person is the sum of their beliefs and their experiences. These in turn shape the way they act and respond in any situation. It is no exaggeration to say that each person is nothing but the product of the time they have spent on Earth. Now, because of all of this many people will experience at some point in their lives that their beliefs are at odds with the beliefs of another. This conflict can be constructive, as it tests ones beliefs and just how strong they are. However it can also lead to ruin if one blindly puts their faith into something faulty. Regardless of the scenario, the fundamental truth is that the force of belief is one of the strongest in the universe.

This is a story about one who believes.​

Nix arrived at facility 108 and immediately took in the scenery. It was still somewhat unfamiliar, and the course was a looming and intimidating presence. Thankfully, they were not currently obligated to care as it was not their problem. They were more of a recent addition to the cast of players in this drama, so not everything felt that welcome to them yet. To add to these feelings of inadequacy, Nix was fully aware that they were without a doubt the most fragile and weak being in the entire complex. If literally ANYBODY wanted to kill them, they could with absolutely no effort at all. This was the struggle that they had to face being one of the more normal ones walking among these gods. Nix tried to not let this get to them, as it was most likely just their mind overthinking things. It was true though, that in the short time that Nix had been here, they had not yet made any friends.

Twas unfortunate.

Regardless, the communicator walked closer to the building, looking around and studying their surroundings. Until they truly felt that they belonged, they would not let their guard down, they would not take anything for granted, and they would assume that each day could be their last.

 

[Giyari]

Mood: Run down
Location: Swan's office
Company: -
@'s: welian Zahzi
Other:

Director Swan
Swan sat in silence in his dark office. The only light coming from a crack between the curtains and Swan's green shaded desk lamp, the only noise coming from the ticking of a clock on the far wall. With a blank stare into the leather writing surface of the old wooden desk, Jason raised a glass of whisky to his lips, the ice clinking loudly against the glass.

As the smokey liquid warmed his throat, he let out a quiet sigh. He'd take this job to prepare those who needed it, to get them ready for life in a world where they were treated as either oddities or as dangers to those around them, to prepare them to deal with the stresses of a life that may not be kind to them. He'd taken it to raise the next generation of heroes fighting to protect society and those who lived in it. He hadn't taken it to watch his students and staff burn the city to the ground. Sometimes it couldn't be helped, trouble always found a way through. But this year had taken more out of him than the last ten combined.

Espionage on the facility, students running wild, staff members attempting to murder them when they finally snapped, terrorist groups rising from the shadows, Commonwealth doing nothing about it, well openly anyway.

Rolling his neck on his shoulders, Swan sat his empty glass on down on the desk. Things had to change. Trouble didn't look to be disappearing any time soon, in fact if he didn't know any better he'd think someone was pulling strings to make it all happen. There was something about the world right now that seemed to be a perfect powder keg. The only way to deal with what seemed to be inevitable, was instead to expect it. It was time to prepare.


Jason's fingers tapped randomly on the keyboard of his laptop a few times. The screen lit up as the device sprung back to life, casting a shadowy outline of Jason on the wall behind his desk. His finger quickly worked their way through the words as sentences and phrases formed on the screen. A few clicks, a quick scan for errors, and the first message was sent.

Sender: jason.swan@common.gov.us
Recipient: scarlet.chernov@com.gov.us

Requesting approval to operate with increased austerity and authority. I believe the best actions against recent events from myself and this facility are those with less compromise and increased autonomy with regards to decision making.

---

Tamnavulin 18 year, worth the price.

Regards, Swan.

Hitting send, the email folded itself into an old letter shape on his screen before "disappearing" into cyberspace. Hopefully he'd get a reply within the working day, but in the meantime, there were other matters to take care of. Reaching into his pocket Jason pulled out his phone.

"C'mon, pick up…" the faint noise of a ringer filled his ear as the phone waited for a connection.

"Hunter, hey. I need your help with something. Could you meet me at the Pier?"

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Piper Farrar	Rank: E
Attire: Spa Robe	Location: Spa
Tagged: ManicMuse (Page), Gus (Manami)

A sigh escaped her lips, her eyes closed as she let her head rest against the sauna's walls. She heard someone enter, but didn't bother to open her eyes and see who. She often didn't know anyone here and was currently escaping the stress of studies. She wasn't too concerned with her photography finals, but she had some core classes to take for her major. These core classes were the reason for her stress, as she wasn't that great at science nor did she care much for math. Math was an easy subject for her, but she took harder classes to give herself a challenge. Without the challenge, she'd be doodling in the class everyday.

Hearing someone speak up in the sauna, Piper finally opened her eyes to see the super near her speaking to the woman who had joined them. While Piper had selectively chosen the corner near the door, ideally it kept her out of everyone's eyesight when they first walked in, she knew that she'd be noticed now that the super had called attention to herself.

Piper started when she realized that she knew the woman who had entered, though. Ms. Morgan, Page, as Piper had met her from the interview she'd done a while ago. The fiery super, who's emotions seemed to control her powers. Sitting upright, Piper glanced sideways at the fish super, who she didn't know. Deciding against greeting a stranger, Piper merely raised her hand in a simple greeting towards Page.

"Well, hello there, Ms. Morgan. I see that I am not the only one seeking a break from life's daily stresses."
Pausing to consider the fish super's words, Piper smiled faintly, as she added, "I too am taking a break from before my finals. I sure wish I only had one final to worry about."

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Samantha 'Sam' Casan	Rank: B
Attire: Black tank top, torn jean shorts, barefoot	Location: Brahn's Bakery
Tagged: None yet

Chewing on the croissant, Sam's eyes flickered about the bakery. As much as she loved visiting the bakery, she still felt a bit sad each time she came back. Without Jessica to join her anymore, things just weren't the same. The vigilante had gotten overwhelmingly busy lately and had stopped responding to Sam's texts. Sam could only hope that everything was all right for her.

Sam had left for the bakery an hour ago and had probably already wasted another hour since being here. The food and drink were delicious as always, but not the same when enjoyed alone.

She'd never owned a phone before, but found it to be not too difficult to use. She hadn't gotten any apps on her phone yet, but had already been told of several fun ones. She needed wifi to properly download them and hadn't bothered to ask any of the employees for the bakery's wifi password. She could always use Facility 108's wifi, but she was at the bakery now so it wasn't much of an option now.

Overall, she'd only come here to avoid studying for the hundredth time. While she doubted she knew everything to ace the final exam, Sam had desperately needed a break. While her personality and behavior wouldn't betray this about her, Sam was actually incredibly studious when it came to her classes. She took pride in getting straight A's and excelling, though she'd never openly brag about it like some other students sometimes did. It was more than enough for her to just see the A on the papers.

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Lara Hart	Rank: D
Attire: Blue sweatshirt with Nemo on the front, tan capris, white sneakers	Location: Facility 108 Library
Tagged: None yet

A soft thunk resonated in the quiet library, as Lara's head landed on her open textbook. Groaning, she put her hands on either side of her head and tried to will her headache to magically disappear. She'd been studying for hours now, but felt like everything was just going in one ear and out the other now. It probably would've been a good idea to bring some Excedrin along with her, since Lara knew she was prone to stress headaches when it was exam time. Oh well, too late now.

Closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing, Lara felt her racing heart slow down progressively while her head continued to pound relentlessly. Maybe she should just head back to her room now. The library was desolate anyways, so it wasn't like she was going to be leaving a friend here.

Sighing, Lara sat up and put away her textbooks and pencil into her Lion King backpack. It was definitely childish and Lara loved it to death for that exact reason. Screw growing up, Lara wanted to remain a child forever. It was so much more fun than adulting.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, Lara left the library and began making her way back to the apartments off-campus. Well, Facility 108 wasn't technically a university campus, but it was the first term that came to Lara's mind.

 

[Syrenrei]

Luther Rousseau
"Reliquary"
Location: Spa
Nearby: Page ManicMuse , Manami Gus , Piper Lioness075
​

Luther wasn't really the spa type, not like Piper was, but the idea of it hadn't sounded half-bad. She had also been invited to something called 'hot yoga' but the only heat that Luther liked was the sort you packed, not the sort you endured. Besides, yoga wasn't really her thing. When she exercised it was usually strength or endurance training rather than poses focused on flexibility. Nightly endeavors kept her agile enough where it mattered.

The vigilante yawned as she exited the shower. Lazily she ran a hand through her damp hair, soaking up the water through her fingers as she did so. Page had taken her shopping for work appropriate clothing a few times in the last few months. By Luther's own admission her previous employers were incredibly lax with attire requirements and she had taken full advantage of this. She called a chocolate brown blouse out of the pocket dimension and over her torso appropriately, then a pair of tightly-fitted jeans, and her undergarments. Ordering was important unless she wanted to dress the old-fashioned way. A pair of socks and boots popped out last that she put on manually.

It was a fortunately short drive from her apartment (Luther was too lazy for house maintenance) to the spa. The motorcycle seemed to startle a few more fragile feminine types that were loitering in the parking lot gossiping about heavens knew what. Luther winked at them as she got off her ride, pushing the helmet into stomach chest and to the pocket dimension. They were clearly not fans given the gasp and some less than polite language that was being whispered scandalously. Luther tried not to let it bother her. Supers were not well-accepted in Baltimore given recent events but that did not mean she had to put her life on hold while public relations improved. If anything she was proving to these less-genetically-blessed members of society that she could do 'normal' things without being either frightening or a menace. Isn't that what they wanted? To find a way to coexist with no one hiding from the other out of fear? Having a super terrified of being shunned, attacked, or imprisoned by 'normies' was no better than those same 'normies' fleeing at the sight of a super whom they assumed the worst of.

"Hi, I'm meeting Page Morgan here," Luther casually told the receptionist as she leaned on the counter.

"Yes," the woman smiled pleasantly. She turned and retrieved a pristine white bathrobe and slippers from the shelving behind her and handed it over to Luther. Not since her wedding had Luther been adorned all in white. Given her proclivities it felt wrong to purchase white attire; it simply didn't suit the person she was now. "She asked me to tell you she'll be waiting for you in the sauna. There are changing rooms to your left if you'd like to use them."

"Thank you, but no need," Luther replied with a smile. Walking down the hallway that signs instructed were for the sauna, she shucked off her shoes, tossing them into her stomach and therefore the pocket dimension, then stepped into slippers. Shrugging on the bathrobe she used it to cover the absorption of her undergarments, blouse, jeans, and socks, and the subsequent bikini that replaced them.

"Aha, the sauna! Hey Page, you in there?" she asked as she hung her bathrobe up on the hook, threw the door open, and stepped in. What Luther was wearing was technically a bathing suit but it was a string bikini with black mesh covering the essentials. While it was not transparent it was definitely scandalous enough that little old ladies went out of their way to tell her that she should be ashamed of herself... regularly.

"Manami and... uh... Pepper was it? Didn't think I'd see you here!" she added cheerfully in greeting as she sat down on one of the benches with a grin. Names were not her forte. "I guess this means I can't tell you what I was doing last night," Luther remarked cheekily to her friend. Page often got unsolicited advice and entirely too many details about Luther's hedonistic lifestyle; there was an understood standing offer to take Page to all the bars with her, get her drunk, and make sure she had someone to spend the evening with though they'd be of as ill repute as Luther herself.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

​

Location: Some bus stop, not so far from (stupid) Marcelo's house.
People Around: Just.Me. Ain't that just awesome?

AN ENTIRE HOUR OF WAITING?! *unintelligible angry and frustrated noises*

The sun was shining!!!
Ecstatic about such a lovely morning, Juliana had bolted from the bed and after having breakfast, gone straight outside for a jog. I mean, just look at that blue sky, it would be such a crime not to enjoy it! Yes, it was still colder than what the Brazilian was used to, which kept her from going full summer with her clothing, but nothing a blouse couldn't solve. Staying indoors forever was boring anyway~
As Jú strolled through a nearby park, watching people come and go, listening to the birds sing, she thought about how great it would be if the entiiiiiire day, could remain this peaceful and relaxing. At least until class, one couldn't expect AEGIS to be relaxing after all...

...That did not happen, however:

"What do you mean 'you won't take me'?", the teenager had put her hands by her waist, feeling extremely outraged at what her cousin had just announced.

"It's my day off Jú, do you remember what a day-off is? It means I don't have to go to work today, which means I can enjoy my afternoon right here, watching this movie, in this notebook and that's exactly what I plan to do."

"B-b-b-but you're right there! And then you're just gonna be in the car all the time! Without ever stepping outside!", she retorted, trying to bring Marcelo back to reason, "It's not gonna be hard!"

The man sighed, "Yes, but I don't want to. It won't be difficult for you to go take the bus too", then he completed with a grin, "You've been doing this for the past month already. I'm sure you know the way by now."

"But that's different!", the girl complained almost instantly, "I had to do that because you were busy with work! This...", the girl rounded the scene of the man by the couch with her index finger, "...This is not busy."

He nodded his head in agreement, "Noted. But you're still going by bus."

"Awww, pleeeeeeaseeee~?", Juliana changed strategies, begging with a sugary voice, 'Just this time. Last time, I promise~"

"Good try. But no.", Marcelo responded, not touched in the slightest by the performance. He was well used to the girl's antics by now, "And you better hurry or you're going to miss your ride, miss."

Juliana let out a frustrated high-pitched sound, completing with, "You heartless monster...", expecting to have a reaction of regret out of her cousin. But instead, she received a tilt of the head, as if the man was saying 'You're welcome', which frustrated her even further.

Letting out one of her famous 'Fine's, the teenager went to her room to grab her belongings, stomping her feet angrily in the process. Moments later she came back, purse sling over her shoulder, bus pass in hand, and still stomping stubbornly and made her way to the door. She opened it, went through, but didn't forget to give Marcelo a last furious glare before closing it with an audible 'Slam!'.
The man finally sighed relieved. Putting a leash on the girl's behavior had proved to be a hundred times harder than what he had initially thought, but someone had to teach her to follow house rules and not always assume people were going to do things for her all the time... Now he had to look out for her retaliation. When Juliana said 'Fine', as he had learned in the past month, it was never truly fine nor over.
-------------------------------------

"Oh nonononono! Come back!!!!", the Brazilian called after the bus, as it promptly ignored her existence and simply kept going towards the next stop, until it was out of sight.

Greeeeeeeeeat... Now she's going to be late too and it's all Marcelo's fault!!! Urgh! That egoistical, lazy...asshole! She hoped he would choke on his stupid popcorn for his stupid movie! Oh, her revenge would be might and sweet! The man better expect it by night...as soon as figured out what to do for it.
Well, plenty of time for that until the next bus arrives...
.....
God.Dammit. FUCKING, WHY?!

 

[AllHailDago]

Melody Elanna Vance

Location: From Mr. Stone's to the bus stop
Current Mood: Tired and anxious
Current Form: Human

A lot of people have things they tell themselves they'll stop after just one more. One more cake slice, one more level, one more hit. Melody's "one more" was nature books and documentaries. Whether it be plants, animaks, natural formations, or anywhere in between. Rare is her chance to indulge and learn from them, so she always over does it. The night before her first day at Aegis was one such night.

She had on more than one occasion stayed at Mr. Stone's. In fact he was known for letting his case kids stay with hin very short term between homes. She always felt safe and welcomed there. She knew she'd have her own space, a tv, and good food for a small time. So she enjoyed it while she could. Mostly by staying up long past her reasonable sleeping hours to watch the Nature Channel. They had a marathon on nocturnal birds and she was fascinated

Fascinated so much she slept right through both Mr. Stone's attempt to rouse her before he went to work, and the alarm he set for her for a short time after that. As she finally opened her eyes in earnest they flew wide when she realized the time. She tossed off the blanket in a small fit of panic and hurriedly began dressing for the day. Times like these made her appreciate the fact she showers at night.

She rushed to use the restroom and brush her hair as best she could. Dark rings under her eyes spoke of how little sleep she really got. She turned in the mirror, eyeing her outfit. Light jeans, a purple long sleeved t shirt, and her tan zip up jacket. Comfort clothes for an anxious first day. She put on her plain black sneakers and headed to the kitchen for a quick, fast breakfast of pb&j toast.

Heading outside she headed in the direction of the bus stop Mr. Stone's showed her. It was a short distance away, but being late already made it feel like a mile to Melody. She she'd walk, jogged, and at one point ran when she saw the last bus for some time go by. Yet it was to no avail, not even getting close before it rounded a corner and was gone. As she rounded said corner however it appeared someone else also narrowly missed that bus. Though by a smaller margin than Melody, so it had to have been more frustrating.

Melody caught her breath as she walked up to the stop, halting several steps away from the other girl. She was a little bit older than Melody and she looked understand your angry. Melody didn't make eye contact out of habit, but made doubly sure here. However she didn't want to say nothing. Actually, she did, but that felt rude. So she simply stammered out the first thing that came to mind. "You just missed it too, huh?" She mentally sighed at herself upon the obvious statement. Stupid, stupid!
​

Necessity4Fun

 

[ManicMuse]

Page Morgan

location : Sauna room of the Spa


State of being: Embarrassed


Nearby: Piper, Manami, Luther

@: Dano Syrenrei Lioness075 Gus

Resting on the bench, Page reached up and grasped at her neck. Attempting to knead a knot out with little success, she sprawled out. Leaning back, using an arm to prop herself up, she was enjoying the solitude. The mist of the room had obscured her vision at first. Page for some reason had made the false assumption that she was alone. When her gaze drifted over to the bench across from her, it stopped to linger on something that appeared almost blue in the dimness of the wooden boxed room. Once Manami began to speak, Page had just realized the blue silhouette matched that of a person. Startled, shifting weight caused her to land on the elbow of the arm that had been supporting her. Wincing from the sharp pain of hitting the funny bone, she hunched forward and rubbed at the tingling tender area.

“Hello Ms. Morgan. Do you like to spa often? Today is my first time. I do not know if I like it or not. It is very hot for me in here. I am trying to relax before the final test.”

"H-hi Manami. I did not see you there."

Suddenly very aware she was wearing a bikini if front of a child and more to the point a student, Page wrapped her good arm up around her shoulder trying to shield her body, hopelessly.

"I come here about once," her voice trailed off. 'Lie! Don't tell her you come here often! What if she tells the other students!'

"I mean to say, this is my first time too. Ha-ha. What a coincidence."

Then another voice by the door chimed in, "Well, hello there, Ms. Morgan. I see that I am not the only one seeking a break from life's daily stresses. I too am taking a break from before my finals. I sure wish I only had one final to worry about."

Another person she knew, Piper! Page's face was suddenly several shades pinker than the scarf that adorned her head. The words of Luther now ringing in her head from their last shopping excursion, 'Live a little, come on. Showing a little skin never killed anyone.'

'Damn you Luther! I knew I should have gotten the plain one piece!'

It was as if merely cursing the woman had somehow conjured her up from thin air, like the devil. The door to the sauna swung open, "Aha, the sauna! Hey Page, you in there?"

Page was a bit relieved at first. It was the perfect excuse to head to the door and grab her robe to cover up. Bouncing to her feet, she pretended to head over to greet Luther.

"Finally, you made it."

"Manami and... uh... Pepper was it? Didn't think I'd see you here!"

That is when she saw just what Luther was wearing. It was sure as hell not the nice simple, tasteful tankini they had picked out. Thinking of the impressionable student in the room with them, Page cast off her embarrassment of her own body to try and block Luther's from Manami's view.

"I guess this means I can't tell you what I was doing last night," Luther remarked cheekily to her friend.

"What the heck are you wearing!? Wait, what were you doing last night?"

Finding context only after her comments, Page shot Luther a glare and rolled her eyes. Then again, she knew not to expect any different from Luther, she was just like that. Part of Page enjoyed the carefree wild attitude that Luther had and wished she was more like her. However, not currently.

"Uh, did you find out if it was time for our mud bath?" Page glanced back over her shoulder at the other women offering an awkward smile, as she still worked to block Luther's bathing suit from view of the young girl's line of sight.

 

[Dano]

Trent Edwards
Location: Spa - Mud Bath
Nearby: ManicMuse Syrenrei

The mud encased the majority of his body, shifting his weight it made a low goopy sound as the attendant propping up his left hand worked over his cuticles. “Careful luv, these hands are extremely important. I cannot tolerate any imperfections…” he said in a relaxed voice.


The brunette in her early twenties and stark white uniform (if you could call short shorts and a low cut top a “uniform”) looked up at the man’s plastered face as she spoke, “Oh I’m sorry Mr. Edwards, I will ensure the utmost care for your appendages” she smiled as she spoke, knowing he could not see her expression. While he was being VERY particular, she couldn’t help but find herself wanting to do the best she could for him.


Trent’s head was cupped by a towel along the ridge of the tub. The mask on his face was tight against his skin as the cucumbers over his eyes helped to reduce the “puffiness” that he swore he had, but no one could ever spot. Turning his head towards his right side, it was as if he had x-ray vision and could see the second attendant who was equally attractive as the first, “Excuse me luv, but you missed a spot on the right side of my index finger…” He didn’t need to be able to see when he could easily feel the spec of skin that was simply out of place and needed to be removed.


The blonde woman in her late twenties and same white uniform smirked at the first attendant before responding, “Let me take care of that for you Mr. Edwards, we wouldn’t want any spots on such a perfect specimen as yourself…” her tone was playful as she grabbed the file and touched it to the spot. Like the first she too was intrigued with this picky man and while he was demanding and almost rude about it, there was a sense that she wanted his approval.


Trent loved these sessions, it made him feel like a kid again living in his mother’s home with their staff, or at least the times his father wasn’t around to abuse the two of them. At 13 he received a mud bath twice a week and the staff members pampered him as if he was the King himself. Fading back into reality when the third attendant unwrapped the warm towel from his feet and began using the cuticle pusher roughly. The redhead was new and as she worked his feet, Trent pulled his feet back from her, sat up and took the cucumber off his left eye and glared at her, “Do you know who I am?” he said in a firm tone. Seeing the slight fear in her eyes, through his one eye, caused his tone to remain as the cucumber, “You see luv, my feet are extremely important and thus you need to use a certain….” he searched for just the right word, “...finesse, when serving someone such as myself.” Sliding his feet back in place against the footrest, Trent replaced the cucumber and eased himself back into place in the mud bath. Not waiting for her to respond, “You may continue… but one more slip and I’ll have you fired” The sheer matter-of-fact way he said it quickly made them realize that not only was he not joking, but that he certainly had the influence to follow through. At once all three attendance spoke in unison, “Yes Mr. Edwards”


Even though the door was closed, the soft music in the background and the trickle of water were enough to block out most noise, Trent could hear some commotion coming from outside the mud room. Shrugging it off, he went back to the calm and tranquil place in his mind as the three attendants continued their work. The room was long and fairly narrow, enough for three bath stations and room for attendants to work around all sides without bumping into any other attendants working on other guests in an adjacent bath. It was moderately lit to help create the most calming and absolute relaxing atmosphere one could ever imagine. Trent knew he had to be to work in a few hours but he simply did not care. When it came to his body and looking his best, there was no rushing perfection. Just then he heard the faint sound of the door opening...

 

[Gus]

Manami Hamasaki
​

Location: Steam Room, with Page, Luther and Piper
Nearby: Trent
Mood: Downcast and exhausted by the heat, but hopeful of relief
@s: ManicMuse Syrenrei Lioness075 Dano


Ms. Morgan seemed uncomfortable about something, but Manami couldn't say what it was. At a guess, she supposed it was her appearance. With mother and father it had never been an issue, but over the last few months, she had begun to have an inkling that her physical differences from normal humans gave people pause. Not only out and about in the general public, but even amongst her fellow supers. She sighed heavily, gills flapping. She wished sometimes she were pretty like Page or Piper. Or at least ...normal looking.

Another waft of cool air announced a second arrival in the sauna. It was Ms. Rousseau! Manami shivered with nervous energy, mixed with delight. Sensei Rousseau was her favorite teacher. She was beautiful. And more than that, she was confident in herself. Sensei did exactly as she pleased, and took as little notice of the swarms of would be judges of propriety around her as a blue whale might of scolding plankton. More than anything, Manami wished she could be like her teacher in that.

She used to be. But it had only been from obliviousness. As her language skills had improved, she had begun to notice, to her chagrin, that not everyone was pleased as simply and thoroughly as she was by day to day things. As a result, she had begun, with limited success, to try to rein in her enthusiasm and stand out as little as possible. To quash her natural feelings though... it hurt. In her deepest heart, she wished she could reach the place Sensei seemed to inhabit so easily: to sense the cold reproving gaze of the crowd, and to shrug it off without a care.

Ms. Morgan jumped up and stood between Manami and Sensei Rousseau, but facing Manami, arms thrown out to the sides which confused her mightily. Something about a mud ...bath? Was she talking to Sensei or to Manami? Were they leaving? Manami wanted desperately to get out of this heat, not to mention a strong desire to emulate and learn from two of her key role models. Then again, she was fearful of imposing on the two adult women. But were they inviting her? Ms. Morgan seemed to be talking to ...her? Finally, balanced on the cusp between playing it safe and being bold like Sensei, she spoke up.

"Sorry. What is a ...mud... bath? Can I go with you? It is too hot for me in here and I think I might pass out. I don't know anything about how to spa. I would like to learn from you Ms. Page and from Sensei Rousseau. If it is ok. Sorry."

She cast her eyes down, and waited to be scolded for her presumption.

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Piper Farrar	Rank: E
Attire: Spa Robe	Location: Spa, Sauna Room
Tagged: ManicMuse (Page), Gus (Manami), Syrenrei (Luther)

While Piper didn't know who walked into the sauna next, the choice of attire was appalling to her. Yet, as she tried to hide her perplexed expression, she found Ms. Morgan's reaction to be entirely amusing. Her surprise and slight disgust quickly shifted to amusement and muffled giggles.

Hearing the failed attempt at her name, Piper shrugged it off and said, "It's Piper, not Pepper."

Eyes wide at Luther's joke about last night, Piper quickly looked at Manami and exclaimed, "Ahaha, I'm sure she was talking about some movie she saw or something."

Piper wasn't the only one trying to downplay this all, as Page quite extravagantly did the same thing. It left Piper in a fit of giggles and ruined her own attempt to downplay the woman's comments.

Wiping a tear from her cheek, Piper glanced past Page and asked, "I don't actually think we've properly met before, ma'am. What is your name?"

Then noticing the continuation of Page's antics, Piper briefly shifted her attention to Manami and suggested, "Hey, Manami, what if you and I get seaweed facials together? I had one scheduled for today and I'm sure they could get you in to do one with me, if you'd like."
Piper figured the best way to avoid further embarrassment would be to redirect Manami's attention. Plus, it seemed like this woman was expecting to see Page here, so the two likely had some kinda spa date planned with one another. They clearly were long-standing friends.

 

[ManicMuse]

Several weeks ago an email was sent out to a specialized email list compiled of Super friendly residents of Baltimore, including parents of students at AEGIS Facility 108:

Volunteers Wanted

​

Show your Baltimore city spirit!

Support our youth.​

Super support!

AEGIS Facility 108 will be hosting a Regional Water Course Exam

Requirements for Volunteer Applications:
Complete application at www.AEGISvolunteer.com
Must be18 years or old or have permission slip from legal guardian or parent.

DATE: Thursday, April 26, 2040

EVENT STARTS: 3:30 PM


Please arrive 30 minutes prior to receive staff shirt, whistle, life jacket, walkie talkie and first aid kit.
***Photo ID will be required at Sign-in at front gate***​

Spoiler: @'s

@Anarchist AxelVanDeriz B Bag o Fruit Damafaud DamagedGlasses Aldur DJ MagicHat Giyari Gus D. Rex lazee Lioness075 Malikai Ozmic Nidelia simj26 @St Sin @SweetNicole Swoob Syrenrei Tanya Degurechaff Teh Frixz The Oldest Blueberry The J yoikes ViAdvena welian Zahzi

OOC: THANK YOU Necessity4Fun for making this awesome flyer!

 

[Necessity4Fun]

Cecilia Rizzo Pellegrini

​

Location: AEGIS Facility 108 - Entrance
People Around: A pretty brown haired girl (Nix)
Interactions: Natealie

At least I managed to find her before she wandered inside and got lost there... Or, maybe that's just me?

The scenery outside ran across the windows, it was a path Cecilia rode on daily. But lately her bus trips weren't as dull as they had been. Just a couple minutes after class, and there it was! An SMS from her mom, wishing her a good day at AEGIS, cheering her on. The girl was glad that had also become a daily thing.

It was nearly two months since Tablita, Edmondo and Fiorenza had moved to Baltimore. Her parents, grandmother and herself, all living in the same apartment (A larger one) together! Just like when Cecil was veeeery little. It still felt like she was dreaming, and honestly, she didn't want to ever wake up if it was indeed a dream. After New York, a teacher attempting to kill a student during AEGIS classes and being in the middle of a store robbery, it really felt like she had earned this much happiness. And their presence really helped her to stay strong, as the world revealed itself to be dangerous and unkind. She didn't think she could have made it all alone this time, everything was really taking a toll on her lately.

Getting up to press the alert button, Cecilia noticed that the other passengers would look at her weird for choosing exactly the AEGIS stop. It had started after the Mall incident, but grown more frequent after the Jailbreak... There was no denying it was a reflection of the public opinion on supers being so awful. With a sigh, the little Italian tried not to pay them much attention, though it actually made her sad and confused. It was hard to ignore them when that's all that the television would talk about and when she was already scared of her own power. It certainly did not help her situation at all.

The bus stopped and the girl was glad to be finally out of there. With the crushing pressure of silent judging no longer looming over her, the Italian made her way until facility 108, but stopped when she realised someone else was standing there, looking at the building. Cecilia definitely didn't know them. A new student perhaps?
As she approached them, it turned out to be a brown haired girl. Looking back at her first day on AEGIS, Cecil decided to go and offer some help:

"Hello there. Ehh...Are you, are you lost?", she asked concerned, "Do you need someone to show you the way?"

 

[ManicMuse]

Gavin Dabbs

Location: Facility 108


State of being: Bored


Nearby: Random people

@: D. Rex

"Everything looks good. Alright, let's give it a test run."
​

Rising off his knee, he pulled out his phone and brought up the stop watch function.

"Ready?"

"Yeah! Let's do this!"

"3,2,1. GO!"
​

Albert, a green seven foot giant of a boy, took off heading straight for a brick wall. Just seconds before reaching it, a massive vine erupted from his back. The cord reached up, clinging to the wall dragging his huge frame upward. A second cord, rippled from one of his forearms, latching onto the face of the building. Holding himself up with apparent ease, he scaled the wall. Manipulating the cords, he spun around giving Gavin a thumbs up, "It's working!"

"Perfect. Can you give me a needle attack?"

Albert gave a nod and squeezed his eyes shut. Tension grew in his upper body before he fully puffed his chest out, releasing a wave of spiked green six inch needles that embedded in the asphalt of the empty parking lot.

Gavin watched the fabric of the suit. Making a mental note of the recovery of the tightly woven threads. Within seconds, the holes from where the needles had exited, disappeared.

"IT WORKED! It Works!" Gavin was pleased to say the least. Reinforcing the suit had been one thing but allowing it rapidly give way to create holes for the wearers appendages with ease but then bend back into place, was quite another.

After a few more minutes of goofing around, Albert dropped down off the wall allowing his viney limbs slowly wriggling back into his body. The large holes in the suit lingered for a moment before shrinking back to its original form.

"You are the man. Thank you, dude. I.. My mom is going to be blown away when she sees this thing," Albert shook Gavin's hand, nearly crushing it and pulled him in for a hug.

Gavin squirmed a bit, futilely trying to resist the embrace before finally accepting it, "No problem. Now if you have any issues with it just give me a call."

"Yeah, course," Albert finally released Gavin. The lumbering giant waddled over to a massive pile of his street clothing and pulled out a wad of money, handing it to Gavin. "Now I know we had a set price but I lost my job a couple weeks ago. You know, it's a bit hard being a Super and getting normal work these days. I just got a new gig though and this suit is gonna help me with it. Is there any way you'd let me owe you the rest? Things have been tight with my Mom's health and all."

Gavin took a step back listening to Albert, as he explained his situation. Counting out $400 of the $650 due, he let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. Walking over to his own bag, he slung it over his shoulder and stood in front of Albert who had taken a shamed hunched over posture.

"I'm glad you like the suit, but..I can't do this. It would not be right." Gavin counted out $200 of the $400 in his hand and shoved it back into Albert's hand. "For cost of materials, nothing more."

Albert dragged him into another hug. This time Gavin felt a few warm salty tears trickle down onto the side of his neck. Lightly patting the Green Giant's back, he waited for the other boy to compose himself. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"It's the least I can do. Really, I hope your mom feels better. Just promise to be safe, whatever this job is." The embrace only got tighter from there. Gavin seriously thought he was going to pass out. Once Albert released him, he gasped for a deep breath.

Waving a goodbye, a few minutes later, as Albert took off climbing over a building with his vines, Gavin started up his motorcycle. Strapping on an eggplant purple helmet, from there he was off. Heading off toward Facility 108, the ease of weaving through traffic, helped him make good time. A short thirty minutes later, he killed the engine and clipped the helmet to his bag. Approaching the front gate, he pulled out his driver's license handing it to a woman in a yellow shirt.

"Welcome and thank you," she greeted him with a cheery smile, taking his ID. "Dabbs, Gavin. Got you right here. Here's this back and here is your volunteer gear in this bag. Be sure to look over the brochure before we get started."

Gavin took back his ID stuffed it in his back pocket and took the plain white bag. After passing through the gates, he pulled out an ugly yellow shirt, marked STAFF across the back of it. Heading to the back courtyard where a large WELCOME sign hung, Gavin stood off to the side and peeled off his own shirt replacing it with the volunteer shirt. Checking his watch, while inspecting the walkie-talkie and switching it on, he frowned. Only 2:30. He still had an hour before things were going to get started. Pulling out his phone he sent out a text to Victoria.

Vic <3

them

Hey, you here yet? I guess I am early.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

​

Location: Some bus stop, not so far from Marcelo's house.
People Around: A beautiful curly brown haired girl, too bad she's not being confident with what she has!
Interactions: AllHailDago

An orange-y eyeshadow would look great too! I didn't bring it with me this time tho, damn.

Just as Juliana had started to reach for her purse, thinking about grabbing her phone to deal with the already pooling boredom, a new voice rang from behind and the teenager thanked the Heavens for someone to talk to:

"Yeah", she responded middle sigh, "it's all my stupid cousin's fault, who decided to be lazy and prioritize a movie instead of me... Unbelievable. Urgh, this is so frustrating...!", the girl paused, still thinking of how to get back at him, but choosing to keep that part of the story to herself, "But, that's not the problem right now. Waiting for the next bus however is. It's going to be so boriiing~"

Finally turning to greet the other girl, Jú looked at her company throughly, top to bottom, carefully analysing clothing colors, fabric, the way they overlapped and a noticeable lack of make-up too:

"Oh my, I don't think I own any concealer that color...", the teenager commented out loud after seeing the other's dark circles, "Also think you need more color in there, unless you're actually trying to not be seen, then you're doing it right. A pity 'cause you should be letting yourself shine!! Like a shooting star, ya know?! But, really though. Why all the pale colors? Not even a necklace to try and break it a bit? How desolate...", and then she had an idea, "Oh! Oh, I know just how to fix that! A second~~"

The Brazilian pulled her purse, and bringing it in front of her started rummaging through it. Surprisingly not that much later, Juliana took a long necklace out of it. It had a aluminium chain, that went on until the chest height and a rainbow colored gem in the middle, shaped as a drop.
After contently holding it open in front of her, with the figure of the other girl behind, just to see if it would give out the desired effect, the teenager proudly announced:

"Here, this one will brighten your entire concept for sure!!", she offered the necklace over, "You can have it if ya want, I actually own a lot of these. Won't miss it and you need it more~", Jú completed with a wink.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

Kendrick Haywood

​

Location: Haywood's Household -> Brahn's Best Bakery
People Around: Sam.
Today's Toys: Ted, Spiral, Lieutenant George, Humphrey and Millie.

If only bakeries had a drive-thru option...

Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Leon Walras... All of these were names Kendrick was tired of hearing today, as he glanced at the clock and sighed, wishing it would be over soon.
The woman before him seemed so entranced in the topic, that she failed to notice the apathy of the teenager. Which was a good thing, really. Working at what you liked seemed like the utmost career choice. It was a pity that Ms. Beaumont was wasting all of that excitement on him, however, who didn't even know why the heck he was having classes on the History of Economics in the first place, neither had the option to refuse.

To be kept 'out of causing more ruckus', the boy ended up with his schedule full of new, useless extra subjects. After leading a group of students to save his parents after they had been kidnapped, the same two decided Kendrick had too much free time and needed further surveillance. Yes, he had known since the start that assembling the parking lot team would get him in trouble, but this?! This had gone beyond anything he had imagined!
"I had everything under control." Oh yes, the all-powerful and mighty lion was going to negotiate with his captors, while being tied up in the backseat of a car!!
Rupert Haywood was lots of things, but certainly not a magician. And apparently, he was too prideful to show any gratitude too... It really made Kendrick wonder if others had ever felt this amount of frustration towards himself. Maybe this was Lady Fate's way of making him pay an old debt that had been long forgotten...

As the days passed and his 'reward' became his new daily-life, the teenager felt more and more irritation pile up. His systematic, Home -> AEGIS -> Home -> School -> Home, schedule had grown so rigid that he hadn't had time for a round of Chess with Petra in months! And the Picross game in his phone, now on level 105, would occasionally mock him for trying to beat it in between activities for some excitement, making what could be a pleasurable 5 minutes pause into a one-way trip to frustration Hell...
He was actually supposed to have a free morning today! Having a free pass from class to attend the AEGIS exam in the afternoon, but of course someone always had other plans for him. Oh look, that's a new name on the board, Milton Friedman, how interesting... God. Can't Ms. Beaumont just end this already...?


Managing to leave earlier than normal with the excuse to prepare for the exam, Kendrick was sitting in the back of the Mercedes, this time all by himself like he preferred to, his only company being his usual backpack. As the boy tapped on the Picross level, with no prevision of actually being able to save this play-through, he caught a similar store in the corner of his vision. It ran briefly across the window, on the opposite side of the street... Ah screw this:

"Ivor, turn back a little.", the teenager ordered, seemingly out of nowhere.

The driver was surprised and confused,"But, Master Kendrick I'm supposed-"

"I said, turn.back.", Kendrick interrupted the man, clearly not in the mood to be contradicted.

"Very, well.", Ivor Blecher resigned, turning the car back and stopping right in front of one of the shops in the other lane, "Is this enough?"

"Yes, it's perfect.", he replied pleased, "I won't take long."

Leaving his backpack behind, the boy simply got out of the car without bothering telling the driver what his intentions were, and made his way into a bakery. He had passed here many times before, but never actually gone inside. This would likely be one of the few opportunities he would have to try it, so he had stubbornly pounced on the idea. He could really go for a chocolate parfait right now, even if just for a little break.
With a glance at his phone for the hour, soon putting it back into his jacket's pocket, Kendrick made his way to the counter, credit card in hand to make his order. As he did so, it was impossible to not miss Sam, who was sitting at the table almost directly behind him...

...This was several iterations of bad.

Mentally wishing for the worker to be faster with his dessert, the teenager started nervously tapping his card on the counter and silently hoped that the girl was too busy with her drink to notice it was him that had entered. Forget the break, he would grab the order and make a dash outside if he had to!

 

[Natealie]

Contemplation was something that Nix would do frequently. Getting lost in thought would be considered a pastime for Nix if they wouldn't argue that not all who wander are lost. It was moments like this where they truly felt at piece with the world, the universe, and everything in it. Just contemplating things and really thinking about them made them feel more secure. And in a place where everyone could pretty much kill you if they wanted to, this was pretty important.

However, this was interrupted. The jolt of this shocked them as they turned to see who it was. A beautiful brown haired girl stood there, asking if they were lost. This was not the first person who recognized them here at Aegis, but it was the first student who really seemed to care. Nix was pleasantly surprised by this.

"Oh me? Well to be honest it does still feel like I'm new here..." They told the newcomer. Nix had no reason to hide anything right now after all. "I was admitted a few weeks back so I do know the basics, but I won't say no to a guide. Thank you very much." They smiled.

They looked so goddamn adorable it was criminal.

Necessity4Fun

 

[Gus]

Manami Hamasaki
​

Location: Just outside Steam Room
Nearby: Trent, Page, Luther and Piper
Mood: Uncertain what a seaweed facial is, but grateful to be out of the heat.
@s: Lioness075 ManicMuse Syrenrei Dano

Manami looked up, and her hand unconsciously moved up to touch her face. Was Piper calling her a ...seaweed-face?

...no, that couldn't be right. She had met piper before, and she was kind. She had even sent copies of some of her pictures to mother and father, who were absurdly pleased with them and put them up in the galley. No, it had to be another misunderstanding. Manami was, by now, used to assuming that most things were misunderstandings on her part. Sometimes she got things right, but she knew better than to take offense easily. Embarrassing though it was to suspect her appearance was being mocked, how much more embarrassing to get upset only to be corrected later.

At any rate, one thing was clear: she had been invited to go to a different place by Piper, and she didn't need to be asked twice to leave the steam room. As much as she longed for an invitation to go along with Sensei to whatever grown up and sophisticated activity a mud bath might be, she would settle for Piper's company in whatever a Seaweed facial was as long as it was not as oppressively hot as it was in here!

She stumbled to her feet and bumbled her way past Ms. Page and Sensei and out the door into the blessed relief of the air conditioned hallway. Suddenly remembering her manners, she called over her shoulder to Piper.

"Yes, thank you, I will try the seaweed with you. Shall we go now?"

While she waited, she leaned her head against the hallway wall, and tried to catch her breath.

 

[Teh Frixz]

Tabitha Crane ​

"Mrs. Crane I'm sorry but the fact of the matter is that your daughter simply doesn't qualify for anti depressants. After evaluating her it's obvious that her...condition would be adversely affected by the use of these drugs, and vice versa." The doctor swivels, to face the pair of women, focusing on the shorter one.

"Look, again I apologize but besides the fact that there is no imbalance in her brain, these drugs aren't a cure all and with the new laws in place it would be illegal to prescribe these drugs to metahuman of her category."

----------------------------------------​

"A mutant of her catagory. Who does he think he is. I knew we should have gone with the VA. All that red tape and we'd have been able to slip through the cracks easier. Just wait till your father hears about this. He'll be as livid as I am"

The mop of black hair that had been staring out the window finally speaks up.

"Not mutant mom, metahuman."

She scoffs. "It's all the same thing sweetheart. Just different names. Look..." she waves her hand, before hurrying it back to the steering wheel for the turn towards 108. "You've got a lot going on now in life, more than your father or I ever had to deal with. Certainly more than we expected. I just want my happy little girl back and if you need help to get there, we are both willing to do what it takes for you."

"I know"

"And I know you do." Pulling the car over, Mrs. Crane looked back at her daughter. "I know you hate me saying it, but you've grown so much in the last year. You've been so good with your studies and working with these stupid AEGIS regulations. I just want you to be happy with yourself and you just don't seem like you are. The nights you spend in your room, you don't go out, you hide from any sort of commitment socially, I remember your seventh birthday where you pulled your friends on that little stage at that fun center and got them to sing songs with you in front of everyone." She smiles and sighs, reaching back to gently touch her daughters cheek.

"I love you Tabitha and we all just want you to love yourself too, you just need a little more confidence." A flash of inspiration comes to her, Mrs. Crane withdrawing a couple of twenties from her purse and handing them to Tabitha.

"Here. Take these and buy some snacks from the bakery your father just had to 'yelp' review about. They'll be happy to know you are thinking about them too. And you'll have to think about them a little when deciding what to get."

No sooner had she handed over the cash did her cellphone start ringing through the speakers of their car. The telltale sound of Tocatta and Fugue fill the car.

"That's work hun. I'll have to take this, hop on out here and you'll still be early even if you stop at the bakery."

Tabitha scoots out of her seat and tugs her backpack free of the buckle while her mom put the car in drive and rolled the window down.

"Love you sweetheart, so so sooo much. Be yourself and have fun today okay?" She motions for Tabby to come closer and gives her daughter a parting kiss.

"I'll see you after school, dinner will be ready I promise. Take care!"

The window still down, her mom pulled into traffic, already on her phone with the City government.

"I love you too mom" Tabby spoke to herself while she hitched the backpack up onto her shoulder and turned to walk to the bakery.

------------------


The door jingled and was soon blocked by Tabitha as she entered Brahms Bakery. Staring upwards at the menu, Tabitha nearly balked. Maybe her mom didn't think through the scale of the challenge. Dozens of combinations were possible and Tabby couldn't even begin to decide what they might like.

Making a better door than a window, Tabby continued to think it over, silently considering, terrified of making the wrong move.

 

[Bag o Fruit]

CHRIS KRAVITZ Lioness075 Necessity4Fun Teh Frixz Left kick. Right uppercut. Headbutt, bad move, whatever. Left punch, right knee, left kick, step back right punch, left catch.

Chris sighed, reached his left arm as far to his left as he could, then took a huge step with his right leg and stretched his right arm as far to his right as he could. Some joints in his arms popped. He flexed, popping some joints in his back, neck, and shoulders. He untied the bandana around his eyes and blinked in the morning light.

Finals day. Which of course meant he couldn't sleep the night before. He tried, in fact tried too hard, and ended up making it more difficult for himself. At some point around midnight, he thought, he started to drift in and out of consciousness... but a while after that, a moth flew into his face and he was as awake as he'd ever been. Sometime around 3 or 4 AM, he decided fuck it, snuck out through the window of his room at Dayspring and made his way to Sparrow Point. Perhaps instinctually.

Since then he'd been here, outside an abandoned building near the facility. He dropped to his hands and began doing push ups on the pavement until his arms got tired. Then, he sidled over to the fire escape, leapt up and grabbed the bottom platform, and swung his legs onto it. He dangled himself over the edge, holding on to the rail with his feet, and began doing crunches. Upside-down, he felt as if his head was expanding, his nose start to burn, as if his sweat or saliva was rolling down his nostrils. He wondered if that was what it felt like to have one's brain forced out of their crushing skull.

He caught himself, about to fall. His eyes widened, breathing accelerated, nostrils burned. He flipped forwards onto the ground below, executing a cushioned fall, now he just had to get the cabinet drawer moving fast enough to- no...

He threw up, into a drain in the sidewalk. On his hands and knees, he panted, wiped his mouth. "Fuck..." He stood up, staring at nothing. Breathing. In... Out, in... Out. Sigh.

Traditional exercise was out of the question, then. Chris pulled the bandana back out from his hoodie pocket, folded it diagonally and, holding both corners, whipped it around and around until it was a thick strip of cloth, which he tied around his eyes. He pulled his hood over his head and retrieved the tennis ball from his hoodie pocket.

And, serve: he tossed the ball in the air and punched it, with the full force of his twisting torso. It bounced off the brick wall, and he gave it a left kick airborne again. Right knee. Left punch, right roundhouse. Left knee. Right punch.

In the darkness of his perception, he did not listen, but rather expected the world around him. But he was not focused on the birds which flew by, which felt no remorse, for they were sure of their purpose. He was not focused on the waters in the drain below him, which surely saw innumerable atrocities but kept moving onward. He was not focused on the construction machinery a few blocks away, which... He'd run out of prose, but in any case, he was focused on the tennis ball. Where it was. Where it would be.

Or at least, he was supposed to be focused on the tennis ball. It escaped him after about five minutes and he had to doff his blindfold to chase it.

That's enough of that he decided. He pocketed his things and jogged into town.



He took the first cab he flagged as far as his pocket change could take him, with no small amount of argument from the driver ('Whaddywanna go six blocks, kid? Don't waste my fuckin' time!' "Look motherfucker I'm paying you so s'far as I'm concerned only one wastin' time is you." 'Think you can talk to me like that in my own car!?' "Am I wrong?" 'Fuckin' mother Christ damn fuck shit cock ass fuck'). From there, he climbed the fire escape of the nearest building and made his way across rooftops like a genuine superhero.

After a couple of jumps over alley-gaps, his mind started to wander. He used to hear about 'punching Nazis' as a meme, or a subject of controversy from when his mother was growing up. Not that the controversy had ever been resolved, just not a phrase in the public mind anymore. He wondered about it, because Nazis were supposed to be the ultimate evil, like... the Devil of the modern age. The enemy. Weren't you supposed to punch the enemy?

But the other side of the argument weighed in in his mind... in the hypothetical, they hadn't committed any crimes, physically harmed anyone... they have as much right to free speech as anyone else.

They just use their free speech to call for the abolishment of free speech policies. That and genocide.

But that doesn't merit violence. Violence is an actual crime... and it brings us to their level. It's not a genocide, but it's oppression of a sort... oppression against oppression. Coming to the truism of two wrongs not making a right...

Maybe violence isn't called for, but prevention of seeding the acts they wish to incite is called for and necessary. They have the right to free speech, but their speech leads to action...

But they hadn't done anything! We hadn't even heard them, not really... How can I justify preventing an action I only expected to happen by acting as if it already had?

It turned out I was right. I saved my friends.

But who didn't I save?

Chris was falling. Halfway down a building now, picking up speed. He grabbed a windowsill, but hadn't made the necessary movements to cushion his falling. His arms made grating popping sounds. His grip didn't last for long, so he pushed himself away from the building and landed against the next, his heels catching another windowsill a floor down. He hopped from there to the windowsill the next floor down, the ground floor, on the building he first caught himself on. He hit it with the balls of his feet, then landed on his back on the pavement, doing a proper break-fall so as not to break his skull. It still hurt, though. And there was some variety of garbage juice on the pavement underneath him.

Fucking hell... he coughed a couple of times, rolled onto his side and got up. There was a woman staring at him from the alley entrance. He made sure his musculature still worked before coming up with a witty remark. "And that is why proper timing is important in telling your flying ride you want to see other people."

She simply said "Asshole" and walked off. He was in no mood to dispute.

At the mouth of the alley, he got his bearings. He'd actually been in this part of town before, now that he was looking at it from the ground (everything looked very different from the top). It was near Brahn's... fuck, what was it... Brahn's Best Bakery. Right. He walked a couple blocks down the sidewalk, dodging people as best he could.

After what seemed like a long time, he pushed open the door to the bakery and looked around. A lot of people he recognized, actually, Samantha from class, Kendrick from the parking lot, annnd... Tammy? No, Tabitha... where had he seen- Oh. Shit. Right. He had seen her plastered all over the internet. Eugh, awkward... aaaand she was in the way of the counter, not moving, so it looked like he was going to have to ask her if she was in line if he wanted his damn coffee. Day just keeps getting better.

"Uhm, hem, s'cuse me? Uh, it's... it's Tabitha, right? You go to AEGIS?"

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Samantha 'Sam' Casan	Rank: B
Attire: Black tank top, torn jean shorts, barefoot	Location: Brahn's Bakery
Tagged: @Necessity4Fun (Kendrick), Teh Frixz (Tabitha), B Bag o Fruit (Chris)

Taking another sip of her hot chocolate, Sam almost missed Kendrick's appearance. Almost, but not quite. It was hard to miss him considering his unusually fancy attire that he always sported. He stood out in a crowd wearing that crap, much like how Sam stood out in a crowd simply because of the way she looked. She figured that meant he was fully aware of her presence nearby and she smirked when she noted his tense posture.

"So, couldn't resist the sweets either, Kenny?"

She'd never given him a nickname before, but this one just came to her and sounded perfect. Knowing Kendrick well enough by now, Sam was confident that it would surely grind his gears. Then again, just about everything did.

Finishing off her croissant, Sam heard the door jingle and watched as Tabitha joined them in the bakery. Luckily, when her famous picture had made its way around the internet, Sam had been without a phone and clueless of what the internet even was. She'd been spared that image being seared into her mind and had missed the entire zoo incident, so had been spared that knowledge as well. The result was her only knowing Tabitha as a fellow student at AEGIS and nothing more about the girl. Sam still didn't even know what Tabitha's power was.

Returning her attention to Kendrick, Sam added, "Ready for the final exam? After all, we get to be on the same team for it." She grinned in delight at this and snickered when she remembered Marianne was on their team, too. This was going to be too much fun.

The door's bell jingled again and Sam's attention was diverted while Chris entered the bakery. Again, Sam's lack of proper socialization came into play, as she didn't really know the fellow student too well. Yet again, she also did not know his power. Seeing him talking to Tabitha, Sam glanced at Kendrick for his reaction to everything she'd said.