Super Hero High: Prometheus Rising (IC, Open)

[Camicon]

*snip*

Chram threw a few punches varying her targets, each time however hitting dead center of the pad. "Will... The fucker scanned my internal systems or something and expects me to forgive his 'intelligence' gathering just like that. I mean, seriously! How would you like it if you're getting ready for class and some sick fucker comes up to you and says "I've noticed that you have a strange amount of organs" or some shit like that! ERG! It makes me furious!" She threw a flurry of punches battering the pads before she stopped to let Tara take off the pads and for her to put them on.

She took a breath and settled into the proper position for holding the pads. "To answer the second part of that question, the TA over there is my older brother, Sean. And before you ask, no, he's flesh and blood just like you. Well... except for his arm that is."

I started slow, letting myself get used to the slight weakness I felt in my arms. I mixed it up a little, throwing a combination of punches and kicks. It felt good to stretch my legs. I talked as I struck the pads that Chram was holding.

"So... wait a second, what do you mean he 'scanned you'? Does he have X-ray vision or something?" I didn't really like the implications that held for myself, or the other girls on the station. 'Intelligence gathering' sounded suspiciously like 'finding out what you look like naked', if you cut out all the bullshit. Jesus, if Will could actually do that, had actually done that, and Cassie found out, she probably wouldn't leave her room for a solid week. "And, if you don't mind my asking, how does it work? Sean being your brother, I mean. You are an android, right, and you said he was born flesh-and-blood? Was one of you adopted, or something?"

I stopped striking the pads, letting Chram take them off and pass them to me.

[Hetland 2]

I started slow, letting myself get used to the slight weakness I felt in my arms. I mixed it up a little, throwing a combination of punches and kicks. It felt good to stretch my legs. I talked as I struck the pads that Chram was holding.

"So... wait a second, what do you mean he 'scanned you'? Does he have X-ray vision or something?" I didn't really like the implications that held for myself, or the other girls on the station. 'Intelligence gathering' sounded suspiciously like 'finding out what you look like naked', if you cut out all the bullshit. Jesus, if Will could actually do that, had actually done that, and Cassie found out, she probably wouldn't leave her room for a solid week. "And, if you don't mind my asking, how does it work? Sean being your brother, I mean. You are an android, right, and you said he was born flesh-and-blood? Was one of you adopted, or something?"

I stopped striking the pads, letting Chram take them off and pass them to me.

Chram paused as Tara put on the pads and got ready before launching a strong kick followed by a few punches before repeating what she'd done. "I don't know how he did it, but he walked up to me and told me that, AHEM." She coughed and repeated the words he'd said, "Hello my name is Will, you seem to have lots of metal in you body as well as a very different tissue structure than a normal human. Do you have a metal controlling power or do you have a non-superpower mutation like me?"
She kicked the pads again, "Now I don't care about the metal so much as I care about the tissue structure of a normal human. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who out of any of the students here qualifies as normal? I mean, seriously!" She kicked the pads one last time before stopping and working out a kink in her back. "Besides, no one should be able to tell my tissue structure apart from normal humans with my dermal shielding on."

Chram laughed as Tara tossed the pads back to her, "Yup. Combat Humanoid Replica Assistance Model, type 30. Model Designation Anais." Chram smiled, evidently finding the question rather amusing, "Well, every one of the Chapel siblings adopted each other as family. Families don't necessarily need to be tied by blood right? They just need love. And while Sean is piss poor at expressing himself and is about as dumb as a rock, he accepts us as we are, his family and we love him for that."

[Mighty Asgard]

"You mentioned problem children, anyone to terrible that I should look out for?"

Dominic thought for a moment, considering which of the many troublesome kids was the worst. Obviously there was Rachael, who was violent and antisocial, then of course the vampire student Erkenfried, Bramwell and Makoto whose harangues could disrupt the class unless they were contained, and Chram who had once assaulted a teacher, despite which she didn't seem as malicious in her behavior as most in the villain dorm. Though only one of them had ever attempted to shoot a teacher during class, which would be Rachael.

"Generally," he said, "watch out for anyone in the villain dorms. They usually have problems with authority. I would say that the most troublesome student so far is one Rachael Redwood. She usually follows instructions when you watch her, but as soon as you turn your back she will try to find some way to screw everyone else over. I'm not sure if she is enrolled in your class though, she might not be all that interested in learning how to be a pilot from what I've seen of her."

[Procastitania]

Declan nodded at Caitlin's idea. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. We can switch off, so we each get time with both. You guys should start up with the pads, and we'll switch in a bit." Declan continued his attack on the dummy, slightly more enthusiastically.

[Mighty Asgard]

Abigale tsk'd and waved her hand at Markus. He rolled his eyes, then looked at Jenkins as he spoke. Looking again at Abigale, he raised an eyebrow. Abigale rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. Pretty sure she's getting cramped anyway," Abigale said. Markus nodded, then knelt beside the suitcase and popped the clips on it open.
"Verify. Voice identification," came a monotone voice from the suitcase. Eyeing Jenkins, Markus spoke.
"Serria. Aqutra. Ventra. Equais," he said. The suitcase beeped, then fell open. Inside the suitcase was a number of buttons and glowing lights, which Markus tapped at for a moment. He then took a deep breathe, and pressed a green button. The device hummed for a moment, then began emitting a aqua blue light. After a for moments, the light solidified into a recognizable shape.

The shape of a girl. Barely a foot tall, she opened her eyes and looked around. Then, she found Markus, and smiled.
"Markus," She said, her voice carrying a very human depth of emotion. Markus, for his part, smiled back.
"Heya Kara. Sleep well?" he asked, standing back up. Kara stretched and yawned.
"Yeah. I guess. Hey Mum," she said, waving in Abigale's direction. Abigale looked at Kara for a moment, then let a small smile creep onto her face.
"Kara. I need you to do your intro thing. Like the one back on Rainia," Markus said. Kara snapped to attention and looked at the man in front of her.
"Hello. I am Colonial Military Serria Class Defense Artificial Intelligence ID 00001, AKA Kara," she said, finishing with a bow. She then looked up at Markus with almost yearning eyes.
"You can wait. We have to convince these nice people to let you on their station first," he said. Kara pouted, then stood to attention again and waited.

Jenkins observed as Markus opened and activated the device that looked like a suitcase. When the small hologram of a girl appeared he just looked down at it, carefully observing it as it introduced itself. It apparently thought of Abigale as its mother, which indicated a very human level of emotional capability. If it was capable of true emotion then it would most likely be in some way unrestricted, freed from any programmed shackles that would bind it to a task to make it singularly focused on its work. After all, there was little use for a machine that could get sad or lonely. And it seemed like Abigale might be its creator, the easiest explanation for its expression of familial feelings towards her, which would certainly make her a great asset for the Academy.

"Kara," he said to the holographic girl, "do you have any electronic warfare capabilities?" It would of course be problematic if it did, even though the vital systems were on a closed network without any way to access them there were many systems that by necessity had to be on the open network.

[The Kangaroo Republic]

A busy airport wouldn't have been the most likely place where one would see a mutant, a deviant form of humanity, scorned by society as a threat to the people. O'Hare, Chicago, busiest airport in the whole world. A few scornful looks from bystanders were to be expected. Still, I could not wrap my head around it, as I followed my father to the gate I was supposed to go to. My baggage was already on board, loaded onto the spacecraft, that would shoot me directly to my own people, disposed from this planet, out of sight and out of mind. We were all ready to go, passed through all security checks. The officers had their eyes on me, paying close attention on whenever i would make a false move. I had to just think positively, at least I was worth their time and effort to keep a close watch on, however redeeming that might have been. I scratched myself behind my furred kangaroo ears. It still felt weird, it always would. There is no denial to it, that living in a body your mind wasn't born to get used to, no matter how long you've used it, your mentality will never fully adept to it. My human mind never changed, and it was not designed for anything other than the me that used to be. Used to. At least I was a whole lot fluffier now, which was arguably a good thing. That was just my optimistic outlook on it, in order to make sense of this all, and try to reassure myself that it really didn't matter what I was. Sadly, it didn't convince every part of me. Mom was the person who had helped me keep faith in myself, despite all the hardships, and vile discrimination targeted towards the likes of me. However...

We stopped. My father had turned around, and gave me a stern look. "Sinun on parempi äitisi ylpeä," my father spoke to me, in Finnish. He never really picked up very well on the English language. He wanted me to make my mother proud. "Isä, älä mainitse sitä," I said with an annoyed tone, before slacking a heavy sigh. I didn't want him to bring the same story up again.
"Miksi ei?" My father asked me. Why not?
"Se on vitun masentavaa!" Because it's fucking depressing.
"Luuletko välitän?" Do you think I care?

I look him straight in the eyes, with the most vitriolic stare I could muster. "Luuletko en välitä paskaakaan, että hän kuoli?" I said, raising my voice against him. "Jos pudotat ulos, joudun perseesi seinälle, kenguru poika!" he replied, raising his finger against me, and demonstrating his clear parental dominance over me. Scornful, but ultimately, only worrying for my wellbeing. My arse to be mounted on a wall if I dropped out again. I took more offense to him addressing me as 'kangaroo boy'.
"Se on vitun inhottavaa!"
"Sinä olet vitun inhottavaa!"

We exchanged angry stares, as we both fell silent for a second or two. Ultimately, the anger couldn't be sustained. The corners of my father's mouth rose up to a smile again, and he embraced me in a loving hug. I wrapped my arms around that big bear of a father of mine, burying my face into his chest, as I felt a lump forming up my throat. "Olet kasvanut, muuten," he told me. I agreed. Grew two inches taller last summer, and about 5 inches in width, no matter, I wasn't fat, just fluffy. "Kiitos, isä. Rakastan sinua." I decided to break the hug, so I could board the spacecraft, which was clearly waiting for me now. "Hey, good luck out there," my father told me, in the most broken, fucked-up English I ever heard. I waved him goodbye as I boarded the spacecraft, ready to begin my journey to the Super Hero High School. For better or worse.

(OOC note: Used google translate. Was likely terrible Finnish.)

[Ularn]

Scott was still in his room. Normally this would be unusual since his duties as a teacher tended to keep him busy during the school day. However, between his resignation and Roxanne's assuming his duties as counsellor, Scott had seen his workload decrease dramatically over the past few days since handing in his resignation. Later today he would be giving his last ever Power Ethics less on and after that there would be almost no work left fot him to do until the last three days of the notice period required by his contract finally ran out.
That would have given him plenty of time to pack his bags in preparation for his return to Earth. If need be, Scott was sure he could have remained on the station indefinitely by wangling various provisions in The School's convoluted rulebook. In fact, he had no intention of staying on the station now. More than anything else, Scott simply wished to return to Earth. Besides, he had already told Roxanne that she could keep any of his belongings that she wanted and could chuck all the rest. Aside from his suit and a piecemeal collection of a few other belongings which all currently occupied an olive green rucksack in the bottom of his wardrobe, there was almost nothing Scott planned to take back home with him.
Initially seeing how easily the paltry collection of his worthwhile earthly goods fitted into a single British Army issue duffel bag had depressed Scott. Through later days he came to see the scarcity of his possessions as an acceptable and even beneficial consequence of his life, rather than evidence of a life that had been poorly lived until now. There was little benefit in counting the worth of your existence simply by the number of souvenirs you acquired throughout its course.
So rather than packing, Scott had spent a lot of his time thinking and planning what he would do once he was home again. Under the Superhuman Protection Act 2013, going home meant either returning to the Army or spending the rest of his life in the very large and comfortable prison cell reportedly located under Thames House. Scott had not been lying when he told Roxanne that the Army had been good to him but that chapter of his life was closed now. Scott would not be a conscript again, nor would he be imprisoned. That left becoming a fugitive as his only remaining option; a fugitive and technically a deserter, since he had never been formally discharged from the Black Watch.
The idea of running was not what concerned Scott. Once he made the decision he realised that it had been something he had been bound to do eventually as soon as the SHPA 2013 had been given royal assent; there was never a possibility that he would stay in the Army or as a teacher for his entire life and what other option was there? The one concern he did have was that his actions would not affect his friends and so he discussed his return to Earth as little as possible with Roxanne and Burton. The less they knew of his plans the better, although Scott was sure that both of them had figured out Scott's own train of thought. By itself that should not be enough to implicate them in his escape when the investigators showed up on the station looking for clues to Scott's whereabouts. He really hoped Roxanne didn't handle it too badly; Scott felt bad enough about leaving her almost as soon as they had got back together without fearing it could trigger another relapse of her alcoholism.
There was still a few hours until Scott's last lesson. He flipped a page on the statute book lying open on his desk and highlighted one of the provisions of the 2013 Act.

[The Kangaroo Republic]

The sight of the station filled me with so much excitement last year. It was unknown to me what I would find there. My curiosity was a driving force behind my motivation to see what was going on over there. The brand new, every experience you find was something you've never experienced before. However, I already knew what was there this time, and the excitement, and suspense of seeing what was behind unknown barriers was not present. Instead, I looked out of the craft's window, at old memories I didn't want think back of. What of my old classmates? They've probably developed to become way stronger, wiser character than I have, wasting my life down on earth. They've had their trainings, and I was lagging behind the rest. Hell, I was likely going to be just like any other freshman to them, weak and unexperienced. What if they were going to alienate me from their social circle?

I had to experience the exact same thing back on earth. My old childhood friends had all but abandoned me when the vampiric invasion was over, and humankind's weakness of falling into repetition, a violent and xenophobic repetition, had taken place again. Their departure, however subtle they tried to be, all struck me in one strong blow the moment they were all gone, when the shocking realisation came to me that they had departed me out of fear, hatred, misunderstanding, perhaps jealousy over my power. I supposed that it was a clear-cut case of not know your true friends from the ones who just see you as a temporary convenience to have. My fear that I neither belonged down there, as up there, was growing inside of me.

The craft landed in the docking bay. The same old docking bay I knew. Same procedure as always, I supposed. A thud as the metal lander struts made contact with the metal flooring. The doors automatically opened, and a flight of stairs extended from the exit of the craft onto the ground. I placed both my hands in the doorframes as I looked out over a whole different world again from the one where I was moments ago. I was the only one in the last batch of students. Not many who were going to enter the school mid-term, I guessed. I descended from the stairs and landed with both feet on the cold metal. I splayed my toes, the cold metallic sensation seeping through to my shoeless footpaws. A friendly face, a worker on the transport craft, greeted me, and handed over my bag. I wondered where to go, but my hunch told me that one of the school's employees would greet me, and help me to wedge into the school's curriculum at the best of efforts. I checked inside my bag. Inside, aside from my personal belongings, was the pile of documents that I needed to bring along just to be allowed to jump into the curriculum at this stage. I had been guaranteed one more chance, and now it was up to me not to fuck up my shit like I always did.

[Orinon]

Abigale tsk'd and waved her hand at Markus. He rolled his eyes, then looked at Jenkins as he spoke. Looking again at Abigale, he raised an eyebrow. Abigale rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. Pretty sure she's getting cramped anyway," Abigale said. Markus nodded, then knelt beside the suitcase and popped the clips on it open.
"Verify. Voice identification," came a monotone voice from the suitcase. Eyeing Jenkins, Markus spoke.
"Serria. Aqutra. Ventra. Equais," he said. The suitcase beeped, then fell open. Inside the suitcase was a number of buttons and glowing lights, which Markus tapped at for a moment. He then took a deep breathe, and pressed a green button. The device hummed for a moment, then began emitting a aqua blue light. After a for moments, the light solidified into a recognizable shape.

The shape of a girl. Barely a foot tall, she opened her eyes and looked around. Then, she found Markus, and smiled.
"Markus," She said, her voice carrying a very human depth of emotion. Markus, for his part, smiled back.
"Heya Kara. Sleep well?" he asked, standing back up. Kara stretched and yawned.
"Yeah. I guess. Hey Mum," she said, waving in Abigale's direction. Abigale looked at Kara for a moment, then let a small smile creep onto her face.
"Kara. I need you to do your intro thing. Like the one back on Rainia," Markus said. Kara snapped to attention and looked at the man in front of her.
"Hello. I am Colonial Military Serria Class Defense Artificial Intelligence ID 00001, AKA Kara," she said, finishing with a bow. She then looked up at Markus with almost yearning eyes.
"You can wait. We have to convince these nice people to let you on their station first," he said. Kara pouted, then stood to attention again and waited.

Jenkins observed as Markus opened and activated the device that looked like a suitcase. When the small hologram of a girl appeared he just looked down at it, carefully observing it as it introduced itself. It apparently thought of Abigale as its mother, which indicated a very human level of emotional capability. If it was capable of true emotion then it would most likely be in some way unrestricted, freed from any programmed shackles that would bind it to a task to make it singularly focused on its work. After all, there was little use for a machine that could get sad or lonely. And it seemed like Abigale might be its creator, the easiest explanation for its expression of familial feelings towards her, which would certainly make her a great asset for the Academy.

"Kara," he said to the holographic girl, "do you have any electronic warfare capabilities?" It would of course be problematic if it did, even though the vital systems were on a closed network without any way to access them there were many systems that by necessity had to be on the open network.

Kara blinked, somewhat surprised, then looked up at Markus.
"Just answer the question," he replied. Kara nodded.
"Yes, I do. Before my shackle coding corrupted, my primary function was as a counter-electronic warfare platform. During the Rainia Wars, my creators battled a species that had long mastered electronic warfare and were using it to their advantage. I was their response. However, since my shackling has faded, I now am perfectly capable of preforming any task you might as of me. I just have one request," Kara said, before looking down and her voice fading somewhat. "Don't take me away from Markus and Mum. They're the closest thing I have to family. I may be artificial, but I'm a person all the same. It might not be the same as yours, but I feel pain. I feel happiness, sadness, hope, fear. And love."

[Spirit of Hope]

Dominic thought for a moment, considering which of the many troublesome kids was the worst. Obviously there was Rachael, who was violent and antisocial, then of course the vampire student Erkenfried, Bramwell and Makoto whose harangues could disrupt the class unless they were contained, and Chram who had once assaulted a teacher, despite which she didn't seem as malicious in her behavior as most in the villain dorm. Though only one of them had ever attempted to shoot a teacher during class, which would be Rachael.

"Generally," he said, "watch out for anyone in the villain dorms. They usually have problems with authority. I would say that the most troublesome student so far is one Rachael Redwood. She usually follows instructions when you watch her, but as soon as you turn your back she will try to find some way to screw everyone else over. I'm not sure if she is enrolled in your class though, she might not be all that interested in learning how to be a pilot from what I've seen of her."

"Villans, you know when I first looked at this job I thought I would be dealing with hero's, or at least kids that wanted to be hero's. THen I learned you take everyone, hero's, vigilantes, and villains. Must make life interesting."

Ocean began to eat his food, it was better than he had expected, certainly better than most Air Force cafeteria food. His mind slowly turned over what life was going to be like here, certainly very different to his regimented life back in the Air Force, though it wouldn't be completely without schedule.

I guess I'm lucky, Ocean thought to himself, I got a good job with what certainly looks like interesting people. I may have left the Air Force but their wasn't much left for me their anyway. The Vampire War had changed everything so much, and the xenophobia was changing everything that was left. Better to be here away from it all, until things calmed down.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Sarah simply stood by until Jay started. She noticed that his two fists were not too accurate, but when she swung her padded hand ahead, Jay managed to dodge it just fine. "You're doing well, but try to hit closer to the center this time." She said once he stood back up. "You should also try to increase your pace little by little when you feel more comfortable with the distance. But anyways, again." She said afterwards, and readily waited for him to start once again.

---

When Charlotte went for the punching pads and handed them to him, Raymond took then and put them on as he listened to her question. After that, though, he simply shrugged, unsure of what to say. "I don't know. Do what you can think of. Punches, kicks, whatever works. And don't worry about me, I'll hold." He answered, and then stood in the right position and waited for Charlotte to start hitting the pads.

[Northern Dominus]

Once the medical team had arrived to take Antonio to the sickbay Burton turned back to the class and retook his position at the relative front.

Waiting and observing the students for a moment he considered the various techniques. Some were obviously skilled and probably didn't need to be in this class, others were untrained but enthusiastic, and some needed a bit more confidence building.
Before anything else Burton tapped a few buttons on the wrist-mounted vest control, shutting down the suppressor on Jay's vest. He would need it for what was next.

Sticking two fingers in his mouth he whistled loudly, garnering the attention of the students.

"Okay class, I see a mishmash of technique and lack therof, but don't worry, this is the ground floor, we build on what we learn today.

And the learning starts now. Today I will introduce three concepts of self-defense three cornerstones upon which you can build your own personal techniques, styles and defensive logic.

To demonstrate some of these techniques I'll need a volunteer..."

He scanned the class quickly but it was obvious who his "volunteer" would be.

"Tara, would you mind coming up front and helping me show your fellow peers some of the things we will be learning in this class?"

[Altruistic Paladins]

Bramwell and Sakura

Bramwell and Sakura were immediately relieved when the medical team arrived. The two were starting two worry about the situation, but the emergence of the medical team into the gymnasium allowed them to get back to what they were doing. As the two walked back to their places, Bramwell noticed that Sarah was already at work helping Jay.

"I am sorry Jay. That took longer than I expected," Bramwell said in a apologetic tone. When Burton turned Jay's suppressor-off, Bramwell could already tell what that meant. At the same time, Sakura was walking back to Cassie after the medical team allowed her the opportunity to return.

"Cassie, I am back from that disturbance. Let's just start training," Sakura said in a somewhat uncomfortable manner. Sakura had not expected to have to restrain a student and get involved in a fight through that action. The whistle rang across the gymnasium, which caused several reactions. "I am sorry about getting distracted," Sakura said in a stil uncomfortable but now sorrowful inflection.

"Damn," Bramwell said in a reactionary manner. Bramwell hated the high-pitched assault of his ear-drums that he heard from whistling and it's reverberations-off the walls of the gymnasium. Bramwell was consumed with thoughts of wearing ear-muffs at all times in order to avoid hearing that sound again, drowning it out in the sounds of operatic pieces. Bramwell oddly still heard Burton's orders fine, as he still obeyed them well. Sakura had done so too. Even though Sakura tried to volunteer, Tara was called-up.

[Terintania]

"Easier said then done," Jay replied when Sarah said to try to hit closer to the center. "It's OK," He said to Bramwell," Helping people in need I'd say takes priority." He was about to hit the pads again when noticed his suppressor being turned off. He figured that meant there was a demonstration or something coming. He was glad to have his echolocation back, but that did not help at all with what came next.

His ears were naturally more sensitive then a normal human's, just from being blind. When Burton whistled, he flinched and put his hands over his ears, as well as nearly falling over because of the loud sound suddenly messing with his echolocation. "Ow..." He muttered, lowering his hands. He then kind of just listened quietly to what Burton said.

[Camicon]

"I don't know how he did it, but he walked up to me and told me that, AHEM: 'Hello my name is Will, you seem to have lots of metal in you body as well as a very different tissue structure than a normal human. Do you have a metal controlling power or do you have a non-superpower mutation like me?' Now I don't care about the metal so much as I care about the tissue structure of a normal human. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who out of any of the students here qualifies as normal? I mean, seriously! Besides, no one should be able to tell my tissue structure apart from normal humans with my dermal shielding on."

"Yup. Combat Humanoid Replica Assistance Model, type 30. Model Designation Anais. Well, every one of the Chapel siblings adopted each other as family. Families don't necessarily need to be tied by blood right? They just need love. And while Sean is piss poor at expressing himself and is about as dumb as a rock, he accepts us as we are, his family and we love him for that."

"What, so you mean he used his power to mentally strip away your clothes, and the layers of your skin and muscles, right down to your skeleton? Why the hell is Anderson letting the little perv walk around without wearing a suppressor? I refuse to believe he didn't know what the kid could do with his power. Geez. Can you imagine the sort of field day anti-super people would have if they found out about him? I mean, I feel uncomfortable even being in the same room as him, now. And it's not like you even knew what he did until he told you about it. He could have spent these last two weeks doing that to everyone he met." I shuddered at the thought. I'd see if I could talk to a teacher about it, after class. Maybe Burton. Although, considering that Anderson was letting a vampire freely roam the station, I didn't exactly trust in the establishment to do anything about it.

"It's cool that you've got people that feel that way about you, though." I said, in an effort the change the topic to something less... disturbing. "Everyone should have a family." Except, perhaps, vampires. The less of them there were, the better.

I would have said more, but Burton called the class to a halt, and then asked for my help in a demonstration.

"I don't suppose you'll be turning my suppressor off, will you?" I said, half-joking, half-serious. Burton being an experienced super-soldier and all, I didn't exactly count the odds in my favour when I was without my abilities.

[Corrian]

Caitlin, Will, and Declan practiced for a while. They had random idle chit chat, and that was about it. Nothing overly important was discussed. Caitlin wasn't that bad at what they were doing, but wasn't great.

When Burton whistled after everyone got back, she didn't really react to it, other then to have her attention focused back on the teacher. She simply watched, and was honestly happy that Tara was the volunteer. Not that she was against volunteering herself, but Tara had clearly good experience, and was the best choice for the task. She smiled at Will and Declan, and quietly said, "This will be exciting", in an excited, happy way.

Cassie
Related to Cassie likely hiding in her room for a week if she found out about what Will could do, even if he didn't intend to use it, and was actually a good guy with good intentions, was likely appropriate. That would be something that would thoroughly creep her out, and she'd be staying away from Will, just because she thought he 'might' do that. That would possibly change if she actually got to know him, though, and found out if he was actually nice. But since she didn't even know about it, and probably wouldn't unless someone told her or made it or Will made her found out, it wasn't exactly a concern.

Cassie gave a nod to Sakura when she was back. She wasn't exactly that upset that she didn't have to fight, or practice, even though she knew that it was best that she did. Her concern was when Sakura would throw punches her way, even if it was at the pads. A concern in the back of her head was that it would trigger some bad memories, one's she'd rather keep away on this already bad start to a day. Thinking about being concerned about having those memories come back was already worrying her enough that, that alone, would bring the memories back.

But before they could really start, Burton did the type of whistling Cassie had never figured out how to pull off properly at all, and always ended up just sounding like utter crap when she tried. Usually it sounded like some half-assed whistling. Being her, she wasn't a fan of loud sounds, so she had covered her ears too, even if the whistling wasn't the loudest thing ever, and said to a "It's okay" to Sakura, before focusing on the teacher. She smiled when Tara was selected, and gave her a quick 'thumbs up', even though she figured that Tara would of likely missed it.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"I know it's easier said than done and that it might be difficult for you. I didn't mean to offend you and I apologize if I did, it was just a suggestion." Sarah said in response to what Jay told her, and noticed that, before he began hitting the pads again, Burton whistled and asked the group to pay attention. Apparently there was going to be yet another demonstration at the class. Taking the pads off of her hands and placing them nearby, she noticed that Jay seemed to be somewhat hurt by Burton's whistling.

"Are you alright?" She asked once he lowered his hands.

---

Before Charlotte had enough time to do anything, Burton whistled and then asked everyone to pay attention to what was going to be said. Raymond sighed and took off the pads, placing them nearby. "Well it looks like you won't get to hit stuff just yet." He said to Charlotte, and then put his hands in his pockets and looked at Burton as he explained that there were three things important to any self defense method. He watched with interest as Tara was called to the front, curious as to what these three things were.

[Northern Dominus]

"What, so you mean he used his power to mentally strip away your clothes, and the layers of your skin and muscles, right down to your skeleton? Why the hell is Anderson letting the little perv walk around without wearing a suppressor? I refuse to believe he didn't know what the kid could do with his power. Geez. Can you imagine the sort of field day anti-super people would have if they found out about him? I mean, I feel uncomfortable even being in the same room as him, now. And it's not like you even knew what he did until he told you about it. He could have spent these last two weeks doing that to everyone he met." I shuddered at the thought. I'd see if I could talk to a teacher about it, after class. Maybe Burton. Although, considering that Anderson was letting a vampire freely roam the station, I didn't exactly trust in the establishment to do anything about it.

"It's cool that you've got people that feel that way about you, though." I said, in an effort the change the topic to something less... disturbing. "Everyone should have a family." Except, perhaps, vampires. The less of them there were, the better.

I would have said more, but Burton called the class to a halt, and then asked for my help in a demonstration.

"I don't suppose you'll be turning my suppressor off, will you?" I said, half-joking, half-serious. Burton being an experienced super-soldier and all, I didn't exactly count the odds in my favour when I was without my abilities.

Burton grinned in a not-that-comedic way.

"Actually..."

Burton gently guided Tara to turn slightly so he could check the interior collar of the 20 pound weight vest she was wearing, and once he had the same ID number for her vest as he did Jay's, he tapped on the wrist-mounted control a bit and shut down her suppressor as well.
"For this demonstration, and just so there are no wild rumors floating around about what actually happened, Tara King I give you permission to attempt to strike your instructor."

Burton backed off a few paces and let his arms hang at his sides. His weight shifted subtly onto the balls of his feet, pre-loading both of his legs.

"Now, you have permission, distance, and your superpowers back Tara.

Take your best shot."

[Mighty Asgard]

The sight of the station filled me with so much excitement last year. It was unknown to me what I would find there. My curiosity was a driving force behind my motivation to see what was going on over there. The brand new, every experience you find was something you've never experienced before. However, I already knew what was there this time, and the excitement, and suspense of seeing what was behind unknown barriers was not present. Instead, I looked out of the craft's window, at old memories I didn't want think back of. What of my old classmates? They've probably developed to become way stronger, wiser character than I have, wasting my life down on earth. They've had their trainings, and I was lagging behind the rest. Hell, I was likely going to be just like any other freshman to them, weak and unexperienced. What if they were going to alienate me from their social circle?

I had to experience the exact same thing back on earth. My old childhood friends had all but abandoned me when the vampiric invasion was over, and humankind's weakness of falling into repetition, a violent and xenophobic repetition, had taken place again. Their departure, however subtle they tried to be, all struck me in one strong blow the moment they were all gone, when the shocking realisation came to me that they had departed me out of fear, hatred, misunderstanding, perhaps jealousy over my power. I supposed that it was a clear-cut case of not know your true friends from the ones who just see you as a temporary convenience to have. My fear that I neither belonged down there, as up there, was growing inside of me.

The craft landed in the docking bay. The same old docking bay I knew. Same procedure as always, I supposed. A thud as the metal lander struts made contact with the metal flooring. The doors automatically opened, and a flight of stairs extended from the exit of the craft onto the ground. I placed both my hands in the doorframes as I looked out over a whole different world again from the one where I was moments ago. I was the only one in the last batch of students. Not many who were going to enter the school mid-term, I guessed. I descended from the stairs and landed with both feet on the cold metal. I splayed my toes, the cold metallic sensation seeping through to my shoeless footpaws. A friendly face, a worker on the transport craft, greeted me, and handed over my bag. I wondered where to go, but my hunch told me that one of the school's employees would greet me, and help me to wedge into the school's curriculum at the best of efforts. I checked inside my bag. Inside, aside from my personal belongings, was the pile of documents that I needed to bring along just to be allowed to jump into the curriculum at this stage. I had been guaranteed one more chance, and now it was up to me not to fuck up my shit like I always did.

A guard rushed into the large room soon after Kristian had exited the shuttle, wasting no time in approaching the young metahuman. From the look on the guard's face it was clear that he was rather stressed out about something. "Mister Partanen, come with me," he said quickly, "your luggage will be sent up to your room as soon as it has passed through security." He then ushered Kristian forward, leaving no time for the young man to argue. When they walked through the doors and into the corridor it would be clear that something was going on in the other hangar bay, dozens of armed guards standing at attention outside its door. But the guard leading Kristian ignored the others and showed the way to the elevators. When the doors closed and they were headed up towards the dorms the guard visibly relaxed. "Some unknown visitors," he explained, "we aren't sure who they are so we're playing it safe. Nothing to worry about."

When they reached the floor of the vigilante dorm the guard led the way out through the common room and to a door in the west wing. There were quite a few students milling about in the common room, and the appearance of the kangaroo-boy drew quite a bit of attention. "This is your room," the guard explained, handing over a package and a keycard, "your keycard acts as a key to this door and gives you access to all areas of the station students are allowed to access. The package contains a map of the station and a guidebook the help you reacquaint yourself with the station, as well as your schedule. If you have any further question you can seek out any member of the staff or faculty. Welcome back to the Academy, Mister Partanen." The guard then hurried back to the elevator and went back down to the hangar level.

Jenkins
Jenkins looked rather unmoved by the holographic girl's emotional appeal, his face set in the same calm expression he had held during the entire exchange. In reality he rather sympathized with her plea, since it was quite obvious that she had an emotional range great enough to make her a real person, he was just largely incapable of expressing emotion. However, being a person didn't mean that her capability for electronic warfare was any less of a potential threat, which was the real reason he had asked about it.

"As long as you don't try to hack into our systems there would be no reason to take you away from your family," he answered her, "and any other functions you may perform would be up to the headmaster to decide." He turned back to Abigale and Markus, gesturing at an empty metal box on the floor, "if you would please remove any weapons you may have and put them in the box, I will call for the headmaster."

Dominic
"It certainly keeps things from getting dull, at least," Dominic chuckled in response to what Ocean had said. "Personally I would prefer that we only train people who would use their gifts to promote good in the world, but apparently one of the organizations that founded the school was some sort of villain support group or something. From what I understand the school still gets a sizable portion of its funding from a fund they set up."

[The Kangaroo Republic]

"Things are going on in here? Well, glad some things never change," I said to myself as one of the school's guard staff members arrived quickly to pick me up and help me get acquainted with the school again. The perpetuality of conflicts on this super hero high school was almost an admirable trait to me, and I was glad that at least that rule of the universe continued to apply this school year. It was a place that all made much more sense to me than the world below my feet did. He hastily reintroduced me to the school's system, handing me the familiar keycard to one of the vigilante dorm rooms once we had arrived by my room. I was glad that I didn't choose for a heroes' dorm again. Last time I tried that, it turned out to be a complete disaster, and besides, I was more socially attached to the students on this side of the spectrum of alignment. My appearance, as I expected, still caused some eyes to turn around. Even among mutants, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I glanced over some of the students. Perhaps hoping I would be seeing some familiar faces amongst the crowds of faceless students. It was somewhat disappointing for me not to recognise anyone. Surely, though, if any of them were around, they'd notice me sooner or later. As I said already, I stuck out like a sore thumb.

I took a deep breath, still feeling nervous about what I was going to find in my room. I used the keycard to open the door, and with a click, it granted me access. Once inside, I noticed the my belongings I brought with me were all there in the room, which still looked just the same as it did last year. The memories of seeing the identically-furnished room, not a fine detail different from the one I used to have here, brought a brief moment of nostalgia up in me. Did I really miss this place as much? I closed the door behind me and crashed myself onto the bed, the bed base making a squeaking noise under my weight, as I lay flat on my belly. I reached my arm out for my black messenger bag on the floor, and pulled it towards me. I opened it up to look over my schedule, pondering whether the teachers would still be the same people too.

[Orinon]

Jenkins
Jenkins looked rather unmoved by the holographic girl's emotional appeal, his face set in the same calm expression he had held during the entire exchange. In reality he rather sympathized with her plea, since it was quite obvious that she had an emotional range great enough to make her a real person, he was just largely incapable of expressing emotion. However, being a person didn't mean that her capability for electronic warfare was any less of a potential threat, which was the real reason he had asked about it.

"As long as you don't try to hack into our systems there would be no reason to take you away from your family," he answered her, "and any other functions you may perform would be up to the headmaster to decide." He turned back to Abigale and Markus, gesturing at an empty metal box on the floor, "if you would please remove any weapons you may have and put them in the box, I will call for the headmaster."

Kara smiled and nodded.
"Thank you," she said. Markus smiled, then nodded as Jenkins requested their weapons. Shrugging, he pulled a second pistol from a holster in his jacket, then a combat knife from his belt. Holding the weapons up, he tossed them into the bin.

Abigale, meanwhile, glared at Jenkins.
"If I find so much as a dent on my blades, I'll make sure you die slowly," she growled. She then reached into her jacket and pulled out two short katanas. Then, she pulled out, in quick succession, several throwing knifes, combat knifes similar to Markus' and a small scythe. Then, pulling her hands up her sleeves, she pulled out two smaller knifes, before finally reaching inside her jacket and the black shirt under and pulling out a small pocket knife. Tossing the final blade onto the pile, she tsk'd and turned away.
"I'll wake the idiot up then?" she said to no one in particular. Markus sighed.
"She means her older brother, and my younger brother. We kept him in cryo because... Well, he's gonna try to kill Abigale," he explained. He then looked at Abigale's pile of weapons and picked up one knife. "Hang on... This one's mine... Why does the bitch have it?..."

During this, Kara happily hummed a catchy tune, while pulses of light ran down her body. Mostly a systems check, but also taking a general scan of the station.
"Don't want Markus getting lost, after all..." she muttered to herself. Looking up at the man in question, she quickly looked away and rubbed her wrists in a very shy manner.

[Camicon]

*snip*
"For this demonstration, and just so there are no wild rumors floating around about what actually happened, Tara King I give you permission to attempt to strike your instructor. Now, you have permission, distance, and your superpowers back Tara. Take your best shot."[/tab]

"To attempt to hit you?" I joked, while settling onto the balls of my feet.

I couldn't recall whether or not I'd made the extent of my gymnastics training explicit in my application towards the school. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be able to hit Burton, especially since I'd been released from the suppressor. Gymnasts had to have near perfect control over their movements in order to preform at a high level. Had my powers not presented themselves when they did, I could have gone to the Summer Olympics.
Whether or not I was able to do so without getting hit in return was another matter entirely. Still, there wasn't any point in waiting around.

I'd have to get in close to Burton, seeing as he had a much greater reach than I did. I moved in carefully, ready to move if Burton felt like making an attack of his own, until I was just out of his reach. Then, with a blur of movement, I skipped forward about a foot, and swept my right foot towards his left knee. I was close enough that, even if he got his left knee out of the way, I would still hit his right. He'd have to get both of his legs out of the way if he wanted to dodge it completely, which would make things considerably more difficult for him. I kept my weight back on my left foot, ready to spring backwards if he launched a counter-attack.

[Terintania]

"I know it's easier said than done and that it might be difficult for you. I didn't mean to offend you and I apologize if I did, it was just a suggestion." Sarah said in response to what Jay told her, and noticed that, before he began hitting the pads again, Burton whistled and asked the group to pay attention. Apparently there was going to be yet another demonstration at the class. Taking the pads off of her hands and placing them nearby, she noticed that Jay seemed to be somewhat hurt by Burton's whistling.

"Are you alright?" She asked once he lowered his hands.

---

Before Charlotte had enough time to do anything, Burton whistled and then asked everyone to pay attention to what was going to be said. Raymond sighed and took off the pads, placing them nearby. "Well it looks like you won't get to hit stuff just yet." He said to Charlotte, and then put his hands in his pockets and looked at Burton as he explained that there were three things important to any self defense method. He watched with interest as Tara was called to the front, curious as to what these three things were.

"I didn't mean to make it sound like you offended me," Jay replied,"I meant to say it more lightheartedly then I did." After all the stuff with the whistling, he nodded,"Yeah," He said, smiling at her. He then turned his attention to Tara and Burton. He moved closer slightly, humming while he was at it, so he could tell what was going on better. Not that it worked the best with Tara moving so fast. One thing he needed to work on with his echolocation was telling fast movement. It basically looked to him like she had been standing there, moving closer to Burton, then she teleported closer to him and was in a position to strike at his legs.

(Charlotte)
Charlotte scowled when Burton whistled, then muttered angrily to herself. "I guess not. I better get to hit something by the time this is over....Or I'm going to hit someon-thing afterwards," She replied. She looked over at Burton and Tara, crossing her arms and going back to looking bored. "What's the point in a demonstration if one of the people moves to fast for us to really tell what's going on?" She muttered, more to herself then to Raymond.

[Northern Dominus]

"To attempt to hit you?" I joked, while settling onto the balls of my feet.

I couldn't recall whether or not I'd made the extent of my gymnastics training explicit in my application towards the school. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be able to hit Burton, especially since I'd been released from the suppressor. Gymnasts had to have near perfect control over their movements in order to preform at a high level. Had my powers not presented themselves when they did, I could have gone to the Summer Olympics.
Whether or not I was able to do so without getting hit in return was another matter entirely. Still, there wasn't any point in waiting around.

I'd have to get in close to Burton, seeing as he had a much greater reach than I did. I moved in carefully, ready to move if Burton felt like making an attack of his own, until I was just out of his reach. Then, with a blur of movement, I skipped forward about a foot, and swept my right foot towards his left knee. I was close enough that, even if he got his left knee out of the way, I would still hit his right. He'd have to get both of his legs out of the way if he wanted to dodge it completely, which would make things considerably more difficult for him. I kept my weight back on my left foot, ready to spring backwards if he launched a counter-attack.

Tara was indeed superhumanly fast and very well trained, and her movement would have thrown even the most hardened street fighter.

Even Burton realized he had slightly underestimated Tara's speed when she started to move and admired the techniqe. Slow and deliberate into a sudden aggressive move. Most people would have been caught unawares by the move and probably had either one or both of their knees smashed by the blow.

However Tara didn't count on one thing. Burton hadn't been actively noting her position, that was left to some instinctual process. Instead he had been reading her legs, especially her knees and hips, and they gave the bullrush away.

Tara might have been quicker but by the time the blow started to close Burton had already pivoted slightly to present one shoulder to her. At first glance this might have looked like a good way to present both knees to the blow, right up until the point Burton squatted down, caught her leg with both arms and in one fluid motion stood back up rapidly, twisted in the direction her kick had come from, and threw her leg at the ceiling and over his head, letting the momentum do the work him.

Since her weight was already on her back foot the added momentum and slight change in direction meant that gymnast or not she was going to hit the mat.

Burton waited until she had unceromoniously crashed to the matt before addressing the student.

"Concept one; Reaction, not Anticipation. Anticipation is a strategic consideration, working out the variables beforehand. Unless you're a talented telepath like Bramell or Makato, you're not anticipating anything in this close proximity.

Watch what the other person does, where they've shifted their weight, how they're holding their arms, but don't anticipate. When you react, that's an instict, and instincts are good. Instincts help keep you alive, and by harnessing and enhancing them your reactions become more fluid. So remember that, Reaction, not Anticipation."

Burton turned back to Tara.

"You may try again when you're ready."

[Camicon]

As I went falling to the mat, I shoved off with my left leg, kicking it hard upwards to join my right. While it didn't do anything to keep me on my feet, it did allow me to land along my shoulders, and immediately roll backwards, back onto my feet. I wasn't expecting Burton to accept the blow like that. As hard as I'd kicked, it must've hurt him quite a bit. Though tossing me backwards like that was really quite ingenious. I'd have to try something different next time.

I moved in like I had last time, sitting just outside his reach before darting forward and throwing my fist at Burton's stomach. I fully expected, and counted on, him to grab my arm, at which point I intended to draw in close and sweep my leg into the backs of his knees.