Super Hero High: Prometheus Rising (IC, Open)

[Altruistic Paladins]

Bramwell, Makoto, and Sakura

"Vampirism is the bubonic plague of our generation. We are seeing great technological and societal change happening as an indirect result of the disease. Much as the bubonic plague resulted in the Renaissance, I hope something similar comes out of vampirism instead of a toll for us all," Sakura said in an odd tone. It was somewhat down, but it still had a sense of optimism to it. Makoto took notice and went back to watching the back-and-forth of the conversation.

"There have been cases where the number of humans dropped to low numbers in bottle-necks throughout history, apologies, prehistory. The last Toba supereruption caused there to be only somewhere between 't two-thousand and twenty-thousand people left on the Earth in the latest bottleneck. Considering that humanity has been able to circumvent any predicaments it has been given, the record stands that we have pulled our countenances out of the dirt on every occasion we have been forced into it. It is only a matter of time before those who attack us leave with or without their mind's or body's consent, for they compare the Great Plains to a bottleneck," Bramwell said in a relaxed manner. Whatever he, he was sure enough about it that he could talk casually about it. "Oh, I am sorry about the soliloquy."

[Kershya]

"This is some crazy gambit pileup. So we got the Lords and Ladies who want to get the source of magic because they believe the multiverse is dying. Antonio's seal on the mana elemental preventing that gate from opening. Magic users from around the world wanting to release said mana elemental. A certain Lord or Lady doing all of this to mess up with the multiverse." Gregorio said as he rub his forehead. "I need some aspirin."

"Well, think about it, that Lord or Lady is doing this to get the source of magic. And since the concepts of Night, and Repetition are very old, shouldn't we have predecessors." Shade asked.

"No, in a past replay, they told me our predecessors died from some Great Undoing, a supposed sign of the coming end of the multiverse which is why the Lords and Ladies are playing their game, and if you ask, no, I have no idea why they're playing a game instead of invading directly, maybe they're really invading. I don't know, every time I ask about that, I get a metaphor of kids playing a board game." Gregorio said as he glace at the patchwork kid, which put him in a trance-like state.

2058, New York City Ruins

Its been years since Subject Pan, medical doctor and genetic engineering expert, Antonio Santiago Fernandez, went crazy. He became obsess with a girl who died in his care. He would do anything to prevent people dying. The military may have think of him as some crazy mad scientist who made North America uninhabitable, but I know more, he's my cousin, and he's the Duke of Nature. A personality named Drasil was Antonio's major personality, and he has the power to control plants at his very whim. At August 14, 2057, my helicopter crashed miles away from the drop zone, with only two dead. Now, March 21, 2058, I'm the last one alive. I'm near Ground Zero, ironic, since the 9/11 Memorial, or what's left of it, is just a few blocks away.

Killing the mutated plant, animal, and human life around me, I entered the lab Antonio used to work for, well, he's still working. Entering the basement, I found him, or he found me, when those tentacle vines captured me.

"Hello, I rarely have guests these days." Drasil said as he injects a capture pregnant woman, who's chained down to the table, a serum. Amidst the pleas of the woman, I was able to free myself using a knife. Then screams can be heard as the woman's belly starts to bloat out, and, I don't want to say what happened. Drasil then patted the monster's arm. "There, now who's a happy mom. You can have kids now. No more miscarriages." No, with that body, she will have millions of kids coming out, every day, at every single moment of her life. I try to kill him with the knife, but those tentacles stop me. "Bad. You know you should stop a doctor when he's working."

"What kind of twisted work are you doing here!"

"I'm a doctor. I'm helping people."

"You're. Not. Helping. Anyone."

"Temper, temper. Of course I'm helping. Look." A wall of vines move away, showing some sort of patchwork man in a translucent cocoon, with vines acting like arteries and veins, piercing through him like a heart. "He's a real help. He has the ability to cause random mutations. With him, I can make the cure, the final cure."

"Cure?"

"Yes, the perfect cure. No one will die, yes, no one. I have cured every disease, every genetic disorder, every fatal sickness, soon, I'll cure death itself! And no one will die. And no one will leave me. We'll all be happy, living eternity together! Alive! Alive!"

"Your too far gone. I'm sorry." I then committed suicide with the knife piercing my heart. That was replay #42,022.

"Gregorio? Gregorio? Hey, snap out of it." Shade said as he shake Gregorio quickly.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, must have faze out there."

"Yeah, why were you looking at that... kid, like that?"

"Nothing, say, Shade, do you still regret seeing your dad died."

"No, I'm over it." He lied. Gregorio notice the telltale signs of lying.

'This is very, very bad.' Gregorio thought. "I REALLY need some Aspirin." He said as the headache got stronger, bearable but stronger.

[Planeta de los Muertos]

"What was that all about?" Erkenfried asked Vincent as he stepped out of the elevator, cursing himself in his mind as it closed an took his bloodstained glass to another level of the station.
"I 'bumped' into that girl earlier, is she in the villain dorms? She seems to be the type, with tho hot-headed personality and constantly verbally attacking people. Quite racist. So, who are you?" Erkenfried asked Vincent as his hands remained behind his back.

(Erk is 5'11.5, not 6'3)

Vincent glanced to the side to notice a newer face. "Yes, she is quite irritable. The perfect trait to exploit on someone as dim as she is. Heh. And my name is Vincent Madeira, though I do not plan to hang on to that accursed name for the rest of my unnatural life. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking, sir?"

"Another potential pawn for my game of ultimate annihilation." he said in his mind.

His eyes turned to the pair of girls he first spoke to. "Fine. I will not combat you...right now. But I will take note of your abilities; I suggest you should do the same to me, for I am no 'walk in the park'."

[AETEN II]

"What was that all about?" Erkenfried asked Vincent as he stepped out of the elevator, cursing himself in his mind as it closed an took his bloodstained glass to another level of the station.
"I 'bumped' into that girl earlier, is she in the villain dorms? She seems to be the type, with tho hot-headed personality and constantly verbally attacking people. Quite racist. So, who are you?" Erkenfried asked Vincent as his hands remained behind his back.

(Erk is 5'11.5, not 6'3)

Vincent glanced to the side to notice a newer face. "Yes, she is quite irritable. The perfect trait to exploit on someone as dim as she is. Heh. And my name is Vincent Madeira, though I do not plan to hang on to that accursed name for the rest of my unnatural life. With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking, sir?"

"Another potential pawn for my game of ultimate annihilation." he said in his mind.

His eyes turned to the pair of girls he first spoke to. "Fine. I will not combat you...right now. But I will take note of your abilities; I suggest you should do the same to me, for I am no 'walk in the park'."

"Erkenfried von Wulf. I appear to be the token student so the school can claim a diversity of species. I also likely got in due to my family funding the school. And yes, I am a vampire. But as I have said countless times before to numerous individuals, I am not part of the species that humanity fought in the war. We split several thousand years ago and have been at each other's throats since. Put us in a room together and there were be a bloodbath. But no matter, I doubt you need to worry about me considering you food." Erkenfried said with distaste as he looked at the, thing, before him. Likely the most repulsive thing he had ever seen in his life- and that was an achievement.

[Camicon]

"Thanks..... No offense taken. I know I am a pushover.... I just don't like hurting others feelings in the same way they hurt mine....or hurting them in the same way they hurt me. The thought makes me feel like I'd be a hypocrite, for being like them. I don't want to be like them.... I don't want to be like the people I hate."

"You don't have to worry about not being there for me all the time...I've been alone with these kinds of things for years. It's okay if you can't always be there for me....I know what it's like to feel alone in the world.......like nobody will ever stand up for you, or truly care for you for who you really are and all they want to do is take advantage of you instead....."

"But....if you really want to help me, to take that much time out of your everyday schedule to help me..... Then I guess I will accept. And, if we are going to be training together, and you don't have a roommate already....you could always share a dorm with me. I'm still alone...which is okay, but if you want to.... Though, I want to inform you that I might be a bother....I tend to wake up in the middle of the night, jolting awake from nightmares, and I'm not always quiet about waking up....."

"Cassie, intent matters. Take me. I insulted and threatened that guy back there, because he flat out said that he was going to try and make your life a living hell, because he found it amusing. That doesn't make me a bad person, that makes me a person that refuses to let jerks like him victimize people every chance they get. It doesn't make you a hypocrite for defending yourself, or for defending other people when they need to be.

"And yes, I do have to worry about you. You see the future, right? When has anyone, ever, reacted well to someone knowing the future? People try to exploit them for personal gain. They try to hurt and kill them because they don't like what the future holds. They attack the messenger, because of the message they are holding. You've got an ability that has been reviled and feared throughout all of recorded history. And the general atmosphere back on Earth isn't exactly welcoming for people with abilities like ours. Especially yours. It's not that I'm worried about you being alone - besides, you aren't alone. I'm here, I don't plan on going anywhere, anytime soon - it's that I'm worried about people hunting you down everywhere you go. That's why I'm going to help train you. As much as I wish it wasn't the case, you need to be able to defend yourself."

I was a little bit surprised, but actually very excited and thankful, when Cassie offered to share her room with me. "Really? That would be awesome! Right now I'm in a room with that weird Makoto girl. I was seriously considering sleeping in the lounge tonight. I can't stand her, or her brother, to be honest. They rub me in all the wrong ways. I'll take 'getting woken up in the middle of the night' over 'not being able to get to sleep in the first place', any day of the week. I'll move my stuff over a little later, but right now I think I'm dying of hunger. Want to get something from the cafeteria with me?"

[Corrian]

Cassie looked distant, thinking about something. There had been plenty of people who made her life a living hell, so maybe she had just thought that it wasn't anything new to her life, so she accepted it, and just dealt with the fact Vincent wanted to make her life a living hell. There was a quiet "That's nothing new for me...." in response to the fact Vincent wanted to make her life a living hell, but it seemed like she was more talking to herself at the moment. "I just don't like to hurt others feelings....even if they hurt mine...." She said as quiet as ever. This proved that she was just overly nice, but also proved that Tara had a challenge ahead of her, to change Cassie out of her stubborn shell of being too nice.

"Not very well...." Cassie said in, you guessed it, a quiet way. "It's more of a nuisance then a use...it's just a random barrage of images that I can barely make out, that now give me headaches...." She said, shaking her head. Again, the memory of her first time she had her ability came back to her, and she closed her eyes before snapping out of it. She gestured to her backpack, saying "I got a way to control it now, though", and smiling faintly. To the rest, she listened deeply, and seemed to be getting more and more nervous as Tara continued. Even though it made perfect sense and was clear as daylight, she had never thought of it that way, and now she had something entirely new to worry about. She started to shake and fiddle with the straps of her backpack. "You are right....." She said, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes again. Suddenly, she had this urge to pretend like her future ability didn't even exist, to hide from the fact that it existed, to avoid anyone knowing and spreading the news around that she had the ability to see the future, even if she saw it in a useless way. That didn't mean it'd always stay like that, or someone couldn't try to boost her ability in a harsh, forced, torturous way if she got captured or something. She smiled again when Tara said she had no plans on leaving anytime soon. She felt that Tara might be the person she trusts the most at this rate, which wasn't a bad thing. To the rest, she let out a deep sigh, and simply said, "Alright....", knowing that no matter how much she wasn't into learning combat and ways to defend herself and hurt others, it appeared that she would now be forced to do so if she liked it or not, so she just accepted the path forced on her.

Cassie's mood lightened up after Tara's response to her offer, and the smile she gave Tara in response to her response was probably the biggest smile Tara had seen from her today, if not ever. Her shyness and nervousness tended to take over her smiling, but it's not like she didn't have her happy moments. She simply listened to what Tara said about who she was rooming with at first, letting her finish. "They seemed nice enough...." She quietly said, but she didn't really know them well enough to have an entire proper say on them. "But I don't know them that well" She added. To the part related to being woken up in the middle of the night over not being able to sleep at all, she let out a laugh, which was probably good to hear from her. And to the last part, she nodded, and simply said, "Lead the way".

[Mighty Asgard]

"Sir," Scott seethed, "I'm sorry, but this isn't acceptable. I do not answer to you for my conduct in Kildare, which I maintain was beyond reproach. Captain Harman approved my mission plan and fully endorsed my actions in Kildare. Any criticisms you have of me should be directed toward him as per the chain of command. The students were never anything other than my first concern and I would not have acted as I did had I believed it put them in any additional danger. If you think my conduct was in doubt, I suggest you have a serious discussion with Mr Moreno, who ordered the students to storm a building despite inadequate intelligence and the fact that he had several squads of highly trained Black Watch soldiers at his disposal.
"Now, you've insulted me by baselessly questioning my competence; you've insulted my friend by baselessly questioning her motives, and you've insulted the two other faculty members who were on the mission by baselessly implying that they could not adequately protect the students without my immediate presence. You've accused me of endangering my students while you're allowing a vampire to move freely around the dorms and School proper!"
To Scott the question of whether this was some different kind of vampire was irrelevant. Although he had known good vampires - like Lucus - if this one had arrived on the station with a human slave in tow like Tara said then any difference between it and the ones Scott had spent the last year at war with could only be academic.
"Further," he continued swiftly, "you endangered the mission yourself by forcing me, Dom and Burton to take several identified problem students against our express advise and wishes. Don't accuse me of endangering our students while you're landing us with an incompetent loose cannon like Rachael Redwood.
"Mr Anderson, from your accusations you've made it cleat that you don't have any trust in my personal judement and you've offended my honour as a fellow British officer. Frankly headmaster," he sighed, "I think that you owe me an apology?"

"As long as you work at this institution you do answer to me," Anderson snapped back, "and I will hold you personally responsible for your actions, whether you feel that someone else was responsible or not. You were given the task of leading the students during this mission, and you decided to instead go search for your friend. Because of this Moreno had to take over your job as team commander. His experience is limited to leading experienced fighters, so he planned as if the students could achieve what he would expect of someone with vastly more experience. That is your fault, because he wasn't supposed to take that role, I don't trust him enough as a leader to give him that role. And I let the younger miss Redwood participate in this mission because she possesses great knowledge of the area, which could have proven invaluable in the hands of a more apt commander than Moreno."

He felt no need to further elaborate his views on the vampire, since everything that needed to be said about it had already been said. Though Scott's continued questioning of his judgment and insistence that he himself had done nothing wrong during the mission did convince Anderson that the young man wasn't fit for the special assignment he had talked to Burton about. Scott was obviously a very talented tactician, but unfortunately also had the emotional maturity of someone his age. It was easy to forget how young he actually was, and it was a sign of bad times when men so young were forced to take on responsibilities that rightfully should belong to the old and wise.

As Anderson continued he didn't look particularly angry with Scott, merely disappointed, "I have as much faith in your personal judgment as you've currently given me a reason for. As for your honor as an officer, you need to grow up and face reality. You failed me and you failed the students. I gave the task of leading them to you personally, because I had faith in your ability to lead them, and you decided to hand away that task so you could go and see to the safety of an old friend instead. If you can't understand why I am disappointed in you after that..." He trailed off and remained silent for a moment, carefully studying Scott's reaction as he continued, "there is more to being a good leader than being able to make a sound plan and order people about, you need to be able to put the concerns of others before your own."

[Planeta de los Muertos]

Vincent scoffed. "You could not make an entree out of me even if your very life essence were to careen over the pit of endless void we call death, nightspawn."

He then shrugged with an air of disdain. "But I suppose if I want to be in your family's good graces, I should treat you less like a mindless hematophage and more of an...equal. I cannot guarantee."

"Promises are like glass." Vincent gestured. "...they are valuable and relevant unharmed, but once broken...they are worthless and forgotten."

[AETEN II]

Vincent scoffed. "You could not make an entree out of me even if your very life essence were to careen over the pit of endless void we call death, nightspawn."

He then shrugged with an air of disdain. "But I suppose if I want to be in your family's good graces, I should treat you less like a mindless hematophage and more of an...equal. I cannot guarantee."

"Promises are like glass." Vincent gestured. "...they are valuable and relevant unharmed, but once broken...they are worthless and forgotten."

Erkenfried hissed with extreme distaste at the creature befoe him- at least the girl acknowledged his race's power over humans, but this, thing, was another story.
"I do not need to touch you to kill you... human? I could cause all of your organs to rupture and explode into a liquid with a the correct pitch in a soundwave. The call of death claims all, no matter how strong they are. And I am far more intelligent than you human and not a pawn- I cannot even be manipulated. My will is unbreakable and cannot be dominated by some fiend that crawled out of the sewers. So please, leave your taunts and laughable attempts at manipulation for the humans. We have been playing a far greater game for thousands of years and have escaped the destruction of the war completely. We are now even in a position to eliminate the vermin spawn that betrayed the bloodline permanently. So please, do choose your enemies wisely and know when the prey you stalk is actually your predator. Mistakes such as those are costly." Erkenfried said with a notable hiss upon each 'S', starting to loath the mutant with each time it spoke.

[Planeta de los Muertos]

Vincent scoffed. "You could not make an entree out of me even if your very life essence were to careen over the pit of endless void we call death, nightspawn."

He then shrugged with an air of disdain. "But I suppose if I want to be in your family's good graces, I should treat you less like a mindless hematophage and more of an...equal. I cannot guarantee."

"Promises are like glass." Vincent gestured. "...they are valuable and relevant unharmed, but once broken...they are worthless and forgotten."

Erkenfried hissed with extreme distaste at the creature befoe him- at least the girl acknowledged his race's power over humans, but this, thing, was another story.
"I do not need to touch you to kill you... human? I could cause all of your organs to rupture and explode into a liquid with a the correct pitch in a soundwave. The call of death claims all, no matter how strong they are. And I am far more intelligent than you human and not a pawn- I cannot even be manipulated. My will is unbreakable and cannot be dominated by some fiend that crawled out of the sewers. So please, leave your taunts and laughable attempts at manipulation for the humans. We have been playing a far greater game for thousands of years and have escaped the destruction of the war completely. We are now even in a position to eliminate the vermin spawn that betrayed the bloodline permanently. So please, do choose your enemies wisely and know when the prey you stalk is actually your predator. Mistakes such as those are costly." Erkenfried said with a notable hiss upon each 'S', starting to loath the mutant with each time it spoke.

"Funny. The fact that you even acknowledge my scathing commentary is evidence enough that somewhere deep in that heart of yours (or whatever organ is supposed to house the soul), you enjoy my 'mad ramblings'. And please, do not think of yourself as superior to anyone."

Vince replied. "In fact, as far I can tell, everyone else here secretly fears you. I am a bit...envious."

[AETEN II]

Erkenfried hissed with extreme distaste at the creature befoe him- at least the girl acknowledged his race's power over humans, but this, thing, was another story.
"I do not need to touch you to kill you... human? I could cause all of your organs to rupture and explode into a liquid with a the correct pitch in a soundwave. The call of death claims all, no matter how strong they are. And I am far more intelligent than you human and not a pawn- I cannot even be manipulated. My will is unbreakable and cannot be dominated by some fiend that crawled out of the sewers. So please, leave your taunts and laughable attempts at manipulation for the humans. We have been playing a far greater game for thousands of years and have escaped the destruction of the war completely. We are now even in a position to eliminate the vermin spawn that betrayed the bloodline permanently. So please, do choose your enemies wisely and know when the prey you stalk is actually your predator. Mistakes such as those are costly." Erkenfried said with a notable hiss upon each 'S', starting to loath the mutant with each time it spoke.

"Funny. The fact that you even acknowledge my scathing commentary is evidence enough that somewhere deep in that heart of yours (or whatever organ is supposed to house the soul), you enjoy my 'mad ramblings'. And please, do not think of yourself as superior to anyone."

Vince replied. "In fact, as far I can tell, everyone else here secretly fears you. I am a bit...envious."

"Of course they do. A species that broke off from mine killed around a billion of them in a year and they know that I consume members of their species. A mouse is terrified by the shadow of a hawk. But do not think that stroking my ego will get you anywhere. Such is easily recognized when one's family 'employs' humans as thralls who have had the parts of their brain related to free will destroyed. Even with their vocal cords removed, one can note their feeble attempts to please every whim of ours. But of course, it is not found offense- just empty. So tell me, what exactly are you anyway? You seem to have reduced that Cassie girl into a comatose state." Erkenfried remarked, somewhat impressed at the being reducing one to a fearful state, but also finding it somewhat repulsive. Malice directed at the weak was not exactly a trait his family championed. The weak could not defend themselves and had enough hardship as it was. No need to further increase the negative image that the word 'vampire' held after the war.

[Planeta de los Muertos]

"Funny. The fact that you even acknowledge my scathing commentary is evidence enough that somewhere deep in that heart of yours (or whatever organ is supposed to house the soul), you enjoy my 'mad ramblings'. And please, do not think of yourself as superior to anyone."

Vince replied. "In fact, as far I can tell, everyone else here secretly fears you. I am a bit...envious."

"Of course they do. A species that broke off from mine killed around a billion of them in a year and they know that I consume members of their species. A mouse is terrified by the shadow of a hawk. But do not think that stroking my ego will get you anywhere. Such is easily recognized when one's family 'employs' humans as thralls who have had the parts of their brain related to free will destroyed. Even with their vocal cords removed, one can note their feeble attempts to please every whim of ours. But of course, it is not found offense- just empty. So tell me, what exactly are you anyway? You seem to have reduced that Cassie girl into a comatose state." Erkenfried remarked, somewhat impressed at the being reducing one to a fearful state, but also finding it somewhat repulsive. Malice directed at the weak was not exactly a trait his family championed. The weak could not defend themselves and had enough hardship as it was. No need to further increase the negative image that the word 'vampire' held after the war.

"I am a mutant. An organism born/imbued with a genetic anomaly that sets him/her/it apart from the norm of the species. In other words, an inhuman." he replied. "I feel that definition does not do me enough justice, however."

[Hetland 2]

Caitlin nodded to what he said. "I will just call you Sean then, unless you want to be called otherwise" She said to him. When he stared at her face, her only real reaction was to raise an eyebrow, but she figured there was a reason for it. She wondered if some of the more sensitive students and teachers would start going on about the 'teacher being a creep' for staring at an under aged girl, but she didn't personally care, especially after hearing his reasoning. But with her opinions on certain people, it wouldn't surprise her at all if some other teacher or student jumped to conclusions like that. "That's fine. Usually I remember the faces, and forget the names" She joked, chuckling slightly. "Ah yes, I believe I have met her in a few classes. In general though, I don't really know her, or have really talked to her enough to know what she's like" She said to him, giving off a simple shrug. "I'm sure I'll get to know her better someday" She added.

Sean had forgotten to listen and realized she was still talking to him, thankfully zoning back in to hear the last sentence. He nodded passively, "I hope you understand her situation. She may be unfriendly but she is a very nice girl." He nodded. "I remember when she was fresh off the assembly line." He paused. "Wait... Never mind. I don't. But I'm sure she was nice."

---

Chram paused as she passed Mr. Snarlyfangs and someone new, a eunuch nudist as it were. She chuckled to herself as she stopped to listen in to them discuss how the eunuch believed everyone feared Mr. Snarlyfangs. As if. But she wasn't really concerned with the the eunuch's attempts to fellate the vampire-thing's ego. Because Chram Chapel was in a cheery mood. Her brother had come back to school as an assistant teacher. "I can't believe Sean got a job as a teacher though. What a pleasant surprise.."

[Corrian]

Caitlin noticed that Sean seemed a little...slow at responses, and a little sidetracked, even if it was within his own mind. Was that exactly great traits to have as a teacher? Not that she really personally cared. She nodded. "I don't instantly have grudges against people, so if they seem unfriendly, I'll just assume they are having a bad day" She said, and started to grin, "Or are on their period", then chuckling in response. Apparently she could be kind of weird. To the last parts, she just listened.

"So, what do you teach exactly?" She asked him after a little bit of a pause of not being able to think of anything to say.

[Hetland 2]

Caitlin noticed that Sean seemed a little...slow at responses, and a little sidetracked, even if it was within his own mind. Was that exactly great traits to have as a teacher? Not that she really personally cared. She nodded. "I don't instantly have grudges against people, so if they seem unfriendly, I'll just assume they are having a bad day" She said, and started to grin, "Or are on their period", then chuckling in response. Apparently she could be kind of weird. To the last parts, she just listened.

"So, what do you teach exactly?" She asked him after a little bit of a pause of not being able to think of anything to say.

"Well then as her older brother, I have to say thank you for taking care of her." Sean cocked his head to the other side at the period comment but mentally shrugged it off, "I don't really teach. I'll be helping in the..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper and unfolded it. There was a ridiculous amount of suggestions for interactions and conversation starters. "Ah. I'll be assisting in any class that doesn't have me thinking to much. Wait. That's not right. That's what Geco and the twins told me before I left. Combat training or... something like that. I really just help out though... I'm no good at teaching. Or thinking too hard."

[AETEN II]

"Well of course you're a mutant. Otherwise a human wouldn't be here. But you seem more, far-gone, than the others. What did your mother do, ingest uranium and drink heavy water daily?" Erkenfried said with a hiss-like laugh before walking to the elevator.
"You certainly are an interesting specimen- but not one I could befriend with my morals, which yes, do in fact exist.

[Corrian]

"No problem" Caitlin said simply, smiling in response. So did that mean Sean was an android too? It wasn't exactly entirely easy to tell. But she felt that was a weird question to ask. She patiently waited for him to...figure out what his own class was? She couldn't really tell. Either way, she waited. To his answer, she listened and raised an eyebrow, not really sure how to react. "Okay...." She said simply, shrugging.

"Well, it was nice talking to you. I probably should go to make sure I'm well rested after that mission, for if we are doing any classes still today or not" Caitlin said to him, giving a quick nod to him as she started to walk off to her dorm room to look through some things. She gave him one last nod, before disappearing back into her room.

[Planeta de los Muertos]

"Well of course you're a mutant. Otherwise a human wouldn't be here. But you seem more, far-gone, than the others. What did your mother do, ingest uranium and drink heavy water daily?" Erkenfried said with a hiss-like laugh before walking to the elevator.
"You certainly are an interesting specimen- but not one I could befriend with my morals, which yes, do in fact exist.

"I would ask her, but I murdered her and her lousy husband." Vincent said, glaring at the vampire. "Those...worthless fleshbags subjected me to countless acts of abuse and humiliation on a daily basis. Now their bloated, disfigured corpses lie in a sewage ditch somewhere. Appropriate punishment, right?"

A slight smirk lit his face. "At least...it felt right."

[Ularn]

"As long as you work at this institution you do answer to me," Anderson snapped back, "and I will hold you personally responsible for your actions, whether you feel that someone else was responsible or not. You were given the task of leading the students during this mission, and you decided to instead go search for your friend. Because of this Moreno had to take over your job as team commander. His experience is limited to leading experienced fighters, so he planned as if the students could achieve what he would expect of someone with vastly more experience. That is your fault, because he wasn't supposed to take that role, I don't trust him enough as a leader to give him that role. And I let the younger miss Redwood participate in this mission because she possesses great knowledge of the area, which could have proven invaluable in the hands of a more apt commander than Moreno."

He felt no need to further elaborate his views on the vampire, since everything that needed to be said about it had already been said. Though Scott's continued questioning of his judgment and insistence that he himself had done nothing wrong during the mission did convince Anderson that the young man wasn't fit for the special assignment he had talked to Burton about. Scott was obviously a very talented tactician, but unfortunately also had the emotional maturity of someone his age. It was easy to forget how young he actually was, and it was a sign of bad times when men so young were forced to take on responsibilities that rightfully should belong to the old and wise.

As Anderson continued he didn't look particularly angry with Scott, merely disappointed, "I have as much faith in your personal judgment as you've currently given me a reason for. As for your honor as an officer, you need to grow up and face reality. You failed me and you failed the students. I gave the task of leading them to you personally, because I had faith in your ability to lead them, and you decided to hand away that task so you could go and see to the safety of an old friend instead. If you can't understand why I am disappointed in you after that..." He trailed off and remained silent for a moment, carefully studying Scott's reaction as he continued, "there is more to being a good leader than being able to make a sound plan and order people about, you need to be able to put the concerns of others before your own."

"Bullshit." Scott spat, "You never told me I was in charge; you never gave me any instructions regarding how I carried out the mission; you definitely never told me I was meant to babysit Dom as well as the students. The only time you gave me, Burton or Dom anything resembling an order was when you made us take along a liability like Rachael and leave competent students like Tyler back here. I never placed the welfare of the students anywhere but first in my thoughts while I was planning or executing the mission, but since you've made up your mind about what happened before you could have read even a single report I can't see why you'd believe me once I've started repeating myself.
"If I'm supposed to protect the welfare of these students I need a certain amount of trust and leeway in order to do it. I can't carry out my duties under the conditions you wish to impose on me." Scott paused for a moment, his expression conflicted as he decided to go any further.
He did.
"Mr Anderson, you'll have my letter of resignation by tomorrow morning. May I be excused now?"

[Mighty Asgard]

"Bullshit." Scott spat, "You never told me I was in charge; you never gave me any instructions regarding how I carried out the mission; you definitely never told me I was meant to babysit Dom as well as the students. The only time you gave me, Burton or Dom anything resembling an order was when you made us take along a liability like Rachael and leave competent students like Tyler back here. I never placed the welfare of the students anywhere but first in my thoughts while I was planning or executing the mission, but since you've made up your mind about what happened before you could have read even a single report I can't see why you'd believe me once I've started repeating myself.
"If I'm supposed to protect the welfare of these students I need a certain amount of trust and leeway in order to do it. I can't carry out my duties under the conditions you wish to impose on me." Scott paused for a moment, his expression conflicted as he decided to go any further.
He did.
"Mr Anderson, you'll have my letter of resignation by tomorrow morning. May I be excused now?"

When Scott declared his intent to resign the look of disappointment on Anderson's face only deepened. Despite the mess that had gone down in Kildare he still had faith in the young man's ability to someday become a great commander, but obviously he couldn't stop him from leaving if his mind was made up. Though he wouldn't force him to leave until he was ready either, perhaps staying at the station for a few more days would give the young man some time to cool off and change his mind. If he didn't change his mind about leaving Anderson would just give him a chance to leave to somewhere where the authorities wouldn't immediately force him back into military service or put him in jail.

"I am sorry to hear that you wish to resign, Scott," he said simply, "but that is your right. You are excused."

He then turned to Roxanne, "and you may leave as well, Miss Redwood. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here at the Academy."

[AETEN II]

"Well of course you're a mutant. Otherwise a human wouldn't be here. But you seem more, far-gone, than the others. What did your mother do, ingest uranium and drink heavy water daily?" Erkenfried said with a hiss-like laugh before walking to the elevator.
"You certainly are an interesting specimen- but not one I could befriend with my morals, which yes, do in fact exist.

"I would ask her, but I murdered her and her lousy husband." Vincent said, glaring at the vampire. "Those...worthless fleshbags subjected me to countless acts of abuse and humiliation on a daily basis. Now their bloated, disfigured corpses lie in a sewage ditch somewhere. Appropriate punishment, right?"

A slight smirk lit his face. "At least...it felt right."

"Justified indeed. I justify my consumption of humans by eating the worst of their race- murderers, thieves, rapists, etc. I still cannot believe the brutality of humans, even after being exposed to them for some time. Murder is an alien concept among the original vampires. We only kill our kinsmen if they either threaten our lives or threaten the survival of the bloodline. It is the same with stealing, raping, and the many other crimes humans commit against their own species. It's unbelievable. Savages. Even animals only murder their own if their lives are threatened or their territory violated. Senseless murder is beyond the most violent of species, yet humans have fallen so far so fast. Even their petty 'religions' cannot slow their fall into anarchy. It is indeed disturbing and quite pitiable. " Erkenfried spoke with honestly when he remarked about pitying humans. They were damned to a life of constant stress, misery, and disease. It was a shame they couldn't be elevated out of their terrible position in the world. Unlike what human culture believed, humans couldn't be turned into vampires, or at least the original blood.

[Hetland 2]

Chram was bored of listening to Mr. Snarlyfangs and the Eunuch discuss why humans sucked. For her the answer was obvious. They were completely organic. Disgustingly so. But they can be interesting. Except Mr. Snarlyfangs who was as self-righteous as a religious fanatic of the american variety. The Eunuch... Was bizarre as he didn't wear clothes which was usually something frowned upon in normal society. She casually passed the two of them on the way back to her room, laughing to herself.

[Mighty Asgard]

Eleven days later

In the days since the security breach the Academy's security staff had been busy, working alongside the tattooed mage to set in place new defenses that would prevent any further extraplanar intrusions. Word of the true nature of the attackers had spread among the students, but most were calmed by the assurances of the administration that there was nothing to fear with the new security measures in place. The equipment Burton had asked the headmaster to bring to the station had arrived less than a day after the request was made, a testament to the impressive amount of connections Anderson had in governments around the world. Due to Scott's impending resignation the headmaster had been hard at work both searching for a replacement teacher of Power Ethics and someone to take over the role as mission leader, but so far hasn't revealed anything about his choices for either position.

For the staff and students it was just another ordinary morning of preparing for another day at the Academy, classes having resumed as normal on the day after the attack.

[Ularn]

To: Frederic Anderson <headmaster@academpowered>
From: Scott Kerr <cinder@academpowered.com>
Subject: Resignation

Dear Mr Anderson,
I am writing to inform you of my intention to resign from my position as Teacher of Power Ethics at the Academy for the Empowered. I believe that current circumstances make it impossible for me to carry out my duties and that this situation is unlikely to be resolved in the near future.
Per my contract, I am required to give two weeks' notice before the end of my employment, which you may treat as starting immediately. Once my period of notice has expired I will vacate the school premises and have removed my belongings from my on-site accommodation.
Thank you for the opportunities this post has offered me.

Yours sincerely,


Scott Kerr

[Altruistic Paladins]

For the trifecta, life was not quite ready to move on due to one problem that had persisted for the past twelve days now. The dysfunction was determined to only be brief due to not being able to last for more than a month as Brayden's research had determined it to be short-lived and determined all of the symptoms of it, calling it a "Neurological Dysfunction" as a place-holder while he worked on a real name for it. At this point, Sakura was stressed due to having to do work for her other classes outside of their time due to having to help Makoto, and was having trouble keeping up without anybody willing to share notes with her. Makoto was increasingly irritable with the inability for organized movement making the simple act of walking an embarrasment that was more likely to end with her tripping and crawling the rest of the way. Bramwell became something of a mouthpiece for Makoto in the absence of proper sentence structure. With the "neurological dysfunction" having gone on for almost two weeks, accomodations were made for convenience, which included Sakura taking Tara's old place in Makoto's room. There was the occasional mistake in thinking Sakura was a student in the class; that notion was dispelled when they noticed her work did not correllate with the current class's work, even if Sakura would have subconciously prefered to just transfer into Makoto's class to simplify that problem.

Though Makoto did not like Tara or agree with the idea of her training Cassie, she did not say anything to avoid further agitating the situation. Bramwell was cautiously optimistic about the idea of Cassie getting training, though the training did not leave him much time to talk with Cassie. Sakura had not had time to maintain relationships she had started with the two Williams or Liesel due to having trouble keeping up with course-work due to un-forseen responsibilites that had did not have accomodations made for her. Bramwell, not having unforseen trouble in his routine, worked on developing friendships with the two Williams and Liesel whenever Makoto was not in need of a human speaker system. They at least had their costumes to look forward to, which were due to arrive next day.