GREY: A Story Of Heroes And Villains [IC]

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She followed Trinity in nervous silence, her mind running through circles as she talked, running over everything in her mind, shrinking in on herself as Trinity continued to elaborate further and further. It... Made sense, to get a member of faculty on side, and especially Izumi given that she was pretty much the head of their half of this entire academy.

She blushed as Trinity mentioned her 'practice', Trinity looking back over her shoulder causing her to wilt noticeably as Trinity looked at her. She said nothing as Trinity continued, for there was nothing to say. Either she would succeed at what Trinity wanted her to do, or she would not and she'd reap the consequences. Trinity had her stuff, for starters, and that wasn't even counting whatever she might make her do under threat if she failed.

She swallowed nervously, nodding to Trinity as she turned to face her. It wasn't like she had a choice really, but, well, she would be lying if she wasn't terrified. Her stomach was doing its level best to turn itself into a knot that couldn't be unraveled as she finally mumbled out an "Okay," to Trinity. Well, if she had to do this today, she might as well get on with it as quickly as humanly possible. She turned, walking away from Trinity with her head bowed and developing a very keen interest in the ground as she walked at a slow, leaden pace towards the main building.

Izumi had told them where she had her office if they needed to talk to her for whatever reason, and this most certainly counted as a reason to talk to her. And so she found herself standing outside Izumi's office, hand raised to knock, before she decided against it and just opened the door, peeking in. Maybe she wasn't there and she could put this off for a bit?

[The Cyberiad Council]

Cesar Wilder

"Sorry," Cesar said, his voice distorted by his bodies rapid vibrating. He jack-hammered his head into Steve's nose dozens of times in the span of less than a second before arching his back away from the plasma that was already starting to burn his flesh. Cesar seemed to almost liquidate as he slipped out of the wire and rotated faster than the other boy could react and slammed a closed fist into the side of his fist before walking off. "Not in the fighting mood, but I'll remember that." Cesar mused as he walked down the hall.

He looked like he was going to run into it, but his form blurred and he pressed his hand against he wall for a brief moment before he began to sink through the wall, making way back to his room the long way around.

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Eli Stephens

The more I thought of it, the more she made sense, why give me a pointless advantage that I wouldn’t have when I’m out in the field? She had me stand up as she moved the chair I was sitting on aside, and I could only question what she was planning.

Well, my answers were answered pretty damn quickly, as I was suddenly thrown into the air, a sense of surprise and deja vu overcoming me as I suddenly emptied my lungs before hitting the ground to make sure I had no wind to be knocked out of me, though I was able to see every millisecond of her action, every muscle working in harmony to do what her mind had intended to do; show me an example of her fighting prowess. My own mind quickly adapted this move to add on to my skillset, as it usually did. She then offered to teach me, explaining the difficulty and the pain that it would bring upon me, but this was an offer that I was in no way willing to simply pass up, making that clear in one simple sentence.

“If you’re willing to teach me, I’m willing to learn.”

[Forest State]

Ruby Wilson

“As I said, the road to this isn’t an easy one. I’m willing to teach you, but I’m not here to give you shortcuts or do anything for you. I’m not quite sure why exactly I’m doing this. Maybe it’s because I want to prove to myself, and to others behind the scenes, that I’m able to do it. Whatever the case with my motives, you’re in luck. I think I’m an expert in the kind of skills that would help you around here,” Ruby said, offering a hand to help Eli up.

“I need some time to prepare, though,” she added. “Not every day that someone approaches me to help. When you guys get back from the training exercise, you can come find me and I’ll figure something out as far as what we’re doing. I have some plans, just need to sort the details out. Talk to a person or two who knows about this kind of thing. Nothing big.”

[Lunas Legion]

(Co-Written with Forest State)

"Don't look so nervous, Miss Laine. Fortune favors the bold, after all," said Izumi, looking up from her desk and some of the planning documents for the upcoming training exercise. She quickly put those away, back in their own folder, and looked up to make eye contact with Kaarina, waving for her to come in. "I'm busy right now," she added, in her usual apathetic tone. "But if you have something to say to me, say it. I've already moved my things."

"So, uh..." She mumbled as she walked in Shit. What was she even supposed to say? She really, really should have thought of a plan for this as she'd walked over but she hadn't.

She looked down at the floor, unable to meet Izumi's eyes, silently willing herself to say something, anything, to break the awkward silence that had settled between them. Crap. Trinity had said be assertive and strong, but she wasn't assertive and she definately wasn't strong, not compared to Izumi.

She should just say something, shouldn't she. "Well." She took a breath. "I'm, uh... Not exactly sure where to start." Her mind blanked. What a great start. Trinity would be so proud of her. Why was she so nervous? It shouldn't be hard. Fuck it. If in doubt, what would Trinity do? She blanked out at that too. Fuuuck. This was getting far too awkward.

"Look I think you're kind-of hot okay and I finally got the courage to admit it." She blurted out, a surprised look forming on her face after she said it. God she was going to need a drink after this if Trinity had one.

"Is that all?" Izumi asked, after a brief pause. She leaned back in her chair, studying Kaarina and the obvious nervousness on her face. It had certainly taken some courage for her to say this, even though the confession seemed... Strange. The nervousness lined up with what she had heard about the girl's personality, however, from the agents that had been responsible for bringing her here.

"I'm sure there's a lot of students that think that," she continued. "You know how teenagers and college kids are. I'm going to be disappointed if you interrupted my work just to tell me this."

That had been... Almost surprisingly anti-climatic. Like she didn't even care. God how the hell was she supposed to seduce her? She didn't think a master could. But it wasn't like Trinity was giving her any other options other than 'succeed'.

"No, I'm... I'm not." She stuttered out. God, she needed a plan but she didn't have time or-Just keep talking, Kaarina and pray like you've never prayed before. Explaining the Trinity situation wouldn't help and could even back fire. Uh... "I was just, uh, wondering if I could help you with, anything at all, uh, really." She blushed slightly as she said it. She'd... She'd screwed this up royally, hadn't she? Right from the very start.

"I don't know. I could ask the same question. is there anything that you could help me with?" asked Izumi, her voice cold and her eyes piercing. She didn't blink, she just stared hard at Kaarina and watched her face carefully. Quieter, she spoke again. "I suspect that what you're looking for is different from what I'm looking for. Unless I've read your intentions wrong."

"Just name it." Her voice was firmer now, some confidence gained even though she couldn't look up and meet Izumi's icy gaze. "Whatever it is and I'll... Try and help. With whatever it is you're looking for, that is." She began to stumble over her words once again as she spoke. "I... Can deal with what I'm looking for later. I guess. Probably. Maybe? I'm... Sure I'll figure something out."

"I don't think my problems are ones that you can relate to, child. You say you want to help, but can you help with healing the past? Can you fix me? Because otherwise, I don't think you really want to be around me, or help me, or anything. I don't know what possessed you to come here, Miss Laine, but aside from the fact that I'm an instructor and you're a student, I'm not the kind of person that you want to be around," Izumi said. Her voice was strangely.... Honest. "We should forget this conversation happened. I would... I would ruin you."

"That's implying there's anything left to be ruined." The words were out of her mouth before she could think properly about what she was saying, the nervousness in her voice suddenly gone, carried off by her lack of hesitation. Other words might have fit better, but she was running on instinct now. "I mean..." The hesitation and nervousness returned back to her voice, instinct replaced by thought. "They... They already took my face," She licked the tip of one of her fingers before beginning to rub furiously at part of her cheek, eventually scraping off the make-up to reveal a small shard of the white lines tattooed across her face. "Branded me, the only way people... Remember me.. It's... Not like I have much left you could ruin."

"And I... I said I'd help with whatever, did-didn't I? If... You want me to try, I... Can but I'm no therapist or something. I'm not... Not even that good with people, to b-be honest." She squeezed her hands together in her lap. "But I can at least... Try."

"I already know about your condition and your status with the Commission. I was informed about it by the agents that brought you here. However, I have to believe that you're in a bit of a better position. People don't remember you, meaning you can never connect with people only to lose them. You can't relate to becoming an adult with other people and then watching them die, while you remain as one of the few lone survivors. I had to watch my friends die, to kill millions, to make one last stand for a cause that the world had turned its back on," Izumi stated flatly.

"You don't want to be around me. I might be an instructor but I'm not a role model. And about what you said earlier, about noticing my looks... I'm not a good lover, either. I can hardly get through teaching these classes. Last thing I need is some thirsty student following me. With all due respect," she added, finally looking away. "Whatever you imagine me as, it's better than what I really am. Trust me."

Izumi was right. She couldn't relate. Her life had taken her down a different path. "N-no, I can't relate." She admitted. "But least you managed to connect with people in the first place." Her words actually had heat behind them, not quite anger, but more than just mere irritation. "You... Never had to fight just to have people remember you, not even be friends, just to have them re...remember your name, have... Have society itself set against you, not out of your... Own actions but because of... Something you couldn't even control. I've... Always been alone."

She sniffed. It hurt to remember those days. Back when she'd thought she'd had a chance to be normal. No. Ignore the self-pity. She... She still had what Trinity had sent her here to do. "You... Chose to fight which is... Is more than I could ever do, so... Thanks f-for at least trying to fight for us. But you... You never did answer if you wanted me to help you. Do you?" She stammered the final words out.

“I’ve never had society against me because of something I can’t control? You never knew me when I was young. It’s not my fault that I had the ability to cause as much damage as an artillery shell, without ever meaning to do anything. It’s not my own fault that I put people in the hospital by discharging my energy,” Izumi fired back, her voice finally rising from its monotone slightly. “I never chose to fight, It was forced upon me and I took it on because I had no options... But if you want to help, you can listen. Not many people have heard my story.”

Listening? That... Didn't sound hard. Hell, that sounded positively easy compared to everything else. "Yes... Yeah, I can do that." She shuffled around in her chair slightly, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Start when...Whenever you're ready, I... I guess."

Izumi shook her head, gesturing to the paperwork on her desk and the map of the training exercise area for the next day. "Not right now. You know where the staff quarters are, you can come and find me after hours. Any time is fine, really, just not right now. I have things to do. I'll be waiting."

She didn't say anything, she just standing up. "All...Alright. Thanks for not just l...laughing me out of the room. I'll... Stop by later." She turned and left the room. It... Wasn't exactly what Trinity had sent her up here for, but it was progress towards what she was here for, so hopefully that was good enough for Trinity. Hopefully.

[Atreidya]

Steve Murphy

"What the hell really?" Steve asked quietly as Wilder stalked off. He sighed and wrapped his cable up. Looking over at Regina, Steve watched as she appeared to be healing herself. Although, it seemed like she might could use some help.

"Hey? Uh do you need help getting to the medic?" He asked, not entirely sure she could hear him.

After waiting beside her for a while he turned to the others in the hall. Shrugged and went back to his room, everything would work out, he was sure of it. Then again she did look like she was in bad shape. Stopping at his doorway Steve rolled his eyes before turning to look back down the hall. "I shouldn't have gotten involved, what the hell got in to me." He let out a sigh as he thought. Finally leaving his doorway and heading off toward the medic office. "Do I go to a doctor or a stone mason for her? Today sucks that could have been fun, but everyone picked on one person and bailed out as quick as it happened.

He continued on, not really bolting for the medic office but getting there eventually to at least let them know about the girl in the hall.

[Forest State]

TIME SKIP: 1 DAY

“The goal of this exercise is simple, and it is a zero sum game. Secure the target that has been designated as Echo by Specter leadership,” said Fantom, speaking on a video feed that was being projected to screens on board both the hero and villain transports to the north and south parts of Edinborough respectively, a decent distance outside the city in areas where they would be less likely to attract suspicion. Of course, the two VTOLs had stealth capabilities and would largely go unnoticed until their final descents, when they dropped off and picked up the students. When Fantom spoke, the screens switched to display the image of a college aged boy with curly black hair and thick rimmed glasses. “Once you secure the target, you will be picked up by Specter agents in the area and driven to the extraction point.”

“However, be aware of the fact that the Commission is operating in Edinburgh at this very moment.Because of that fact, this is largely a battle of wits rather than a battle of strength. Using your powers might just be a one way ticket to starting a fight that you can’t win. You will still have all means that you can think of to discover where the target is, and it will be up to you to decide your strategy. You can search the streets, ask around, and do whatever you must. Just avoid attention, and avoid public conflicts that will draw police and Commission attention. Good luck, everyone. And remember that in all of this, the larger point is evaluation,” Fantom continued, before the screens went black and the dropships made turns to go their separate ways after approaching in an initially straight line.

When they arrived at the destinations, the dropships made a quick descent that was nearly vertical in trajectory, the rear doors opening up and allowing the students to climb out quickly. There was no time for an organized unloading, just groups of students being dumped in two fields to the north and south of the city. How they proceeded into the city would be up to them, but they couldn’t come close enough to attract attention. Just the VTOLs landing would do a good enough job of that if they were unlucky.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She listened to the briefing in silence. She'd never been to Edinburgh on her little odyssey across Europe, too isolated from the rest of Europe, not enough ways in or out. The fact that it was in a city, well, that was helpful. She liked cities. She could actually use her powers in a way that was sort-of useful in them, with all the crowds and cameras and everything.

Unfortunately, that also meant she knew how easy it was to hide in a city. Searching for one person, even with a picture that she did her best to commit to memory, would be like searching for a needle in the mother of all haystacks. That the Commission was operating there too made this a more... Difficult situation. Hunting someone while being hunted themselves.

And then they were dropped out of their VTOL on the southern side of the city and left to fend for themselves. Fun. Okay, alright. They had no idea of this guy's name, money or anything other than his appearance really. Just that he was somewhere in the city.

"So... Uh." She was the first to speak up. "Does anyone actually have...A plan for how we're going to find one guy in a city?"

[Auphelia]

Kaarina Laine

And then they were dropped out of their VTOL on the southern side of the city and left to fend for themselves. Fun. Okay, alright. They had no idea of this guy's name, money or anything other than his appearance really. Just that he was somewhere in the city.

"So... Uh." She was the first to speak up. "Does anyone actually have...A plan for how we're going to find one guy in a city?"

Regina

She stood tall, a good head over almost everyone else after her haphazard healing job the other day, having accidentally added a bit too much mass. As a result her clothes were a bit tighter, but at least they fit. She watched the coward girl speak up, her voice quiet and reserved. Nervous, perhaps? A natural timidity was to be expected from such a girl, who had done nothing to stop her friend, the angry girl, from initiating an event that led to everyone trying to kill Regina. Bah. She could do without all of them, she was sure of it. It would probably be safer to simply fade away into the streets of Edinburgh, given that in the past two days she had been injured more severely than in the entire time she had been on the run from the Commission, and by a supposed ally no less! The same person she now had to trust in the middle of a city filled with enemy agents.

Perhaps she could learn a bit more about the others before she left, so that she would be able to avoid them if necessary. Or perhaps learning about them could convince her to stay. It was a bit of herd mentality peeking through, back when she could have trust in numbers and adults, but it was something.

"Perhaps we could learn more about each other, and if we're lucky, one of us might have a power someone else will know how to leverage to find the man. If not, he appeared to be roughly university aged, so perhaps we could find the university and start our search there."

[Llalta]

Esther Winterbourne

Edinburgh. He'd been here once when he was 14, but he didn't remember much. He remembered the museums, but other than that, nothing came to mind other than the general architecture, which wasn't particularly useful. But, then again, it was a city. He was best in cities. Easy to navigate and thanks to his invisibility, he could steal and move around with ease without anyone noticing.

For once while he was here, he listened. He wasn't interested, but he didn't want to lose to the 'heroes'. For once the villains deserved to win. Although, they were probably going to start fighting, which would ruin it completely. He looked at the boy. He looked familiar, but at the same time, far away. It was probably cheating, but taking a photo would be a huge help. He hoped no one, especially not Izumi, would notice. And then they'd find out about the rest of his stashed stuff too.

So they were dropped off, south of Edinborough. Stuck with a group of idiots whom he was supposed to work with, who were mostly likely going to fight. After a long silence, Kaarina spoke. And a good question too, for three year olds. He rolled his eyes. Then he thought about it. His mind started racing.

"Why don't we hijack the security cameras." He said flatly, over the top of Regina, who he had no interest in working with. Too weak and stupid. he thought.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

"Ummm... I'm not sure those are good plans." She managed to say despite her shyness. "Either... Either we're trying to hijack an entire city's worth of CCTV, which I... Don't think any of us can actually pull off. We'd need to... Go to wherever all the CCTV feeds are collected and break in and that just sounds... Very, very risky if we're trying not to draw attention."

"Going to the University isn't... As bad, but we should probably split up. We... Can cover more ground. If you want to go there, go, but we... Don't exactly have a car or money for a bus or whatever." She shuffled her legs, wrapping her arms around herself. Why was Scotland cold and wet and damp, not the just cold cold of home? "But it's... probably best you start heading off to the University now. Don't... Waste time and all that. If anyone else wants to go off alone or... Whatever... We can... All meet up later, say... Six hours near the castle?" She remembered hearing Edinburgh had a castle somewhere. It seemed like as good of a meeting point as any.

[Khasinkonia]

Audrey Leisagh

I stood back, and listened to the propositions for a moment. After all the shenanigans of yesterday, it was a bothersome matter indeed. Then I had an idea. A wonderfully magnificently awful idea. It was expected of us that we be villains. That’s what we’re called. And, last I checked, villains could very well steal and do such villainous things. So what was stopping us from getting some transportation that might be more equipped for being clandestine and quick. So I drew closer to Kaarina, and opened my mouth with a devilish grin painted across my face.

“That’s actually quite a good idea. I have one of my own to fix that little car issue for a few of us, if Kaarina and someone with some brawn could give a hand,” I drawled, “I could perhaps trick some naive soul into believing I’m in desperate need of transportation with a little linguistic contortion and acting, and then we get them outta the car, and Kaarina can take the blame since nobody ever can record her. It’s an idea, at least.”

---

Corentina-Elouana Koaduuiueg

As I saw the park stepping out, I heard the grass cheerily chanting a welcome to me. I looked around, and a broad smile formed on my visage. This was going to be perfect. I cracked my knuckles, and walked out past everyone, quietly cackling, then turning around, shaking my hand as a plot was forming.

“Yes, yes, haha,,” I cackled in Breton, “A thick Scottish mist! Rain in torrents! Thunder and lightning all over the city! Ahahahaaaa! This will be spectacular!”

As the idea snapped into fruition, a loud crack of thunder accompanied darkening clouds as I made a hand steeple and smiled with a broad toothy grin and wide, my piercing green eyes almost shining madly with excitement.

“We can work with this well. Some heavy rain and mist will slow others down, but I know we have elemental here, so I hope you’re ready for some rainy fun!” I announced before them as a trickle from the sky slowly turned into heavier rain.

[Menschenfleisch]

Avith Scotty | Villain

The ride to their designated dropoff points was uncomfortable, swift and terrifyingly abrupt to its conclusion. When the VTOL threatened to practically fall out of the sky, it was all Avith could do to stop herself from screaming and turning entirely to smoke. Thankfully they were all deposited safely on the ground; landing in a grassy field some distance away from Edinborough. From this distance it honestly looked like any normal town or city. Picking out their target was going to be pretty tricky, considering the circumstances. Then again... there were a few things they could infer about him.

"Yes, Audrey. I think a lot of us have mobility powers that might let us reach the University faster than a car but right now our best bet is just to take a vehicle. It shouldn't be too hard to isolate someone and just take their car, although it'll be pretty damning to see a bunch of students driving in the same car. My main issue with the plan is what we do once we get to the university. Does our target actually go there? Specifically now, at this time of day? We wouldn't have been sent to retrieve him if he wasn't special. If we start searching we should narrow it down to a superior or agent of the Commission."

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Eli Stephens

To me, the VTOL ride was pretty fun, although a bit bumpy. When they started briefing us on the mission and showed us our target, I burned that info into my mind to make sure I wouldn’t forget even the smallest detail.

When we disembarked, I listened to whatever plans were being thrown about, though one particularly piqued my interest, especially since I could be a big help for that plan.

“I’m up for it too Audery, I can drive exceptionally well, so perhaps I can help out in that.” I spoke, though I also had to hear what Avith had to say as well.

“Well, carpooling does exist, and with Kaarina, if she goes in for the attack, the unfortunate schmuck wont remember a thing. And how are we supposed to narrow it down when the two archetypes that we are focusing in are supposed to remain undercover? And to me, a university would be a perfect place to hide in order to remain hidden.”

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

Well, that wasn't strictly true. They'd remember her, her power would just make sure they couldn't record anything about her so it was close enough.

"Well, um, if we're hijacking a car we're, uh... Going to need two. We... Can't all fit into one car, plus having two means one group can search the University area while the, uh, other goes somewhere else." She spoke up. "But... I think we can do what Audrey suggested twice for two cars so I guess it's all fine?" She gave a small, uncertain shrug. She'd stolen other things before but not cars. She didn't even know how to drive, but someone else would for sure. "Plus we can steal their phones so we can communicate." She added quickly. This plan was rapidly getting better.

She glanced towards Trinity. "Let's... Go steal some cars and phones I guess."

[Korhal IVV]

Juinsan Starvane/Alexei Makrovitch
Heroes Team

Within the dropship, Juinsan listened intently as the instructor layed out the details of the test. “And I thought we will be shooting at each other, heh.”, he thought as they neared the city of Edinburgh. “Nice.”

As they were all deposited outside Edinburgh, Juinsan would look around the group of students labeled as heroes. “I hope they are competent.”, he thought as he began to speak. He wiped his glasses before he spoke.

“So as you know we will have to find this person called ‘Echo’, and you have all seen what he looks like, no?”, he inquired to the other heroes. “Just so you know, I can drive.”, he grinned at the notion of hijacking a car. “If things to south, I can drive at... high speeds. You probably know what that means, but at the same time we should hope that won’t ever be necessary. A van would probably be the best option to fit in as many as possible. Preferably one with dark tint on its windows.”

[Forest State]

Mat Laurenti

“I’m starting to think that we should have asked some more questions when we had the chance. Maybe gotten a better idea of where exactly this boy is going to be. This amounts to looking for a needle in a haystack, and we don’t have many clues on where that needle is,” started Mat, with a sigh. He wasn’t the worst one at navigating, having braved the jungles of Cambodia to hide from the Commission, but tracking someone down required some kind of hints as to where they were. In a big city like Edinburgh, Echo could be anywhere. And covering all of the ground would be impossible, even discounting the fact that multiple people would fit the description.

“Before we go anywhere, we should come up with a plan on how we’re going to narrow down the list of locations to look, and well, figure out how the hell we’re going to find this guy out of about a million people,” he continued with a sigh. “Otherwise, we’re wasting our time. And that only helps the other side.”

Trinity Mathieu

“Why are you looking at me? I’m not the expert in stealing cars… It’s a quick way to find yourself picked up by the Commission, once the police look into the crime and realize who did it. If I needed to get somewhere I usually hitchhiked, sometimes with coercion and sometimes not. Point is, jacking cars isn’t something I do a lot because it’s not exactly smart in the long run,” Trinity said, glancing between the group that seemed to be waiting on her. “But if you all think it’s the only option… Maybe I can figure it out. It will probably involve breaking a window and pulling someone out of the car, because I don’t know hotwiring.”

[Llalta]

Esther Winterbourne

He rolled his eyes. He didn't want to hijack a car. As said by Trinity, it's an easy way to get swiped by the Commission. Not that he had many ideas other than to walk to Edinburgh, which was probably a lot better than hijacking a car. He couldn't believe he had to work with these idiots for another minute. Besides, even if he did have an amazing idea, they'd probably dismiss it as they were all so up their own asses. And it's not even like their asses had any kind of logic or brains in them.

He was glad Trinity had some kind of sense though. She seemed to be smarter than he thought. She certainly wasn't as stupid as the others. On the surface at least.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

"I mean, it's... Not like we're going to be around here for long." Kaarina offered. "Maybe a few hours or a day at most? If... If we jack a car, take our... Victim's phonennd money and then dump them knocked-out in the middle of nowhere then there'd be... No way for them to report what happened until we're... Done with what we're doing." She managed to stammer out. God she hated being near the center of attention. It... Just wasn't her. Didn't suit her.

"And... Even then if they try and report me over the phone they'll... Get nothing. Static, their phone will lose signal or... Something. So, uh, we use Audrey as bait to cause a car to stop, hopefully with just one person in, then Trinity and I jump them from behind and, uh, the front, then, we... Steal their phone, car keys, money, whatever, one group takes the car and keys and phone and wallet and drives off, we... Repeat it for a second car."

She let out a breath as she glanced at Trinity. "Sound... Like a plan?"

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Eli Stephens

“Actually, I can learn to hotwire a car.” I said, pulling out my phone and looked up a how-to video on hotwiring a vehicle, best thing about it was that it showed multiple ways to do it, even better. It times like these that my power can really come in handy.

“If hotwiring is gonna be a better way to nab a car and keep the heat off us for longer, I say we head for a parking lot while I process this information.”

I then got quiet and focused on the video and its methods, which were jamming a screwdirver into the ignition, exposing the ignition cylinder, matching battery and power wires and other things, and the more I watched the more I could adopt that skill as my own, until eventually the video finished and I had the knowledge to hotwire a car effectively.

“Boom, lets find an unattended car.”

[Forest State]

Trinity Mathieu

“You all almost had me looking forward to smashing up some windows and carjacking someone,” Trinity remarked flatly, as Eli mentioned hotwiring a car. She had been ready to concede to Kaarina, but she nodded and knew that Eli’s option was the safer one, as she had learned in the past. She stopped and looked at her phone, the one that was still new because Izumi had bought it for her in Bucharest, and located the nearest parking lot that wasn’t immediately located on the street. She didn’t have to take the group that far, because they came across a lot that was a decent distance away from any buildings, and full of cars.

“Work your magic, I suppose,” she said, stepping aside and gesturing towards the car. She’d let Eli do his job without interference, since this was his skill and not hers. She looked over her shoulder, keeping watch for cops or onlookers in a way that was very familiar to her. It was something she’d done a lot on the streets of France, and later the streets of Serbia and Romania. “By the way,” she added, nonchalantly. “Don’t think of using that little skill of yours against me. You may be able to pull off tricks like this, but you’re still a glass cannon.”

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Eli Stephens

“Being called a glass cannon is genuinly the best thing to be said about me, ever.” I replied, making my way to the car that Trinity had pointed to, quickly picking the door lock before getting into the inner workings on the wheel, matching up wires together and all that jazz, and in about a minute the engine came to life, bringing a satisfied smile onto my face as I got in and adjusted the seat to make myself comfortable.

“Hey your uber’s here.” I joked, setting the car into drive and pressing the brake, waiting for the other to hop in so we can get this started. Though, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasnt a glass cannon, not yet anyways, as far as I was concerned, being called a Swiss Army Knife would suit me much better.