GREY: A Story Of Heroes And Villains [IC]

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

So far life at the Academy had been, well... To call it 'interesting' would have been an understatement. Trinity had relocated pretty much everything she'd brought with her to the Academy into her room for 'protection'. It wasn't like she could fight her over it, and it made sense really because she couldn't even protect herself, let alone her stuff. Which made it awkward when every morning she had to go and barter for clothes and pretty much everything she needed.

And now she was here. Izumi was... Alright, as an instructor. She didn't really have anyone to compare her to, not really. Otherwise she'd stuck close to Trinity most of the time, not wanting to risk irritating Trinity by being away for too long since she had no idea what might set the... She still actually hadn't figured out if Trinity was male or female, and she wasn't going to risk their ire by asking.

The words 'live fire exercise' caused her to shrink in on herself. That just sounded painful and a way for her to get injured very easily. But since Izumi had said there'd be questions, well, she might as well ask as many at once as possible and get this over with. Nervously, she raised a hand before talking, her voice shaky.

"Um... What exactly isn't classified?" She began. "If... If the details are classified, wouldn't that mean everything about it should be? I'll... Just ask about everything and hope it's unclassified." She mumbled something incoherently to herself before continuing. "Why is it classified in the first place? I'm guessing it's being held on the island somewhere and... and if it isn't, then where? Uh..." She stumbled over her words as she talked. "Beyond team versus team, are there any other, like... goals? Limits on powers and weapons?"

She stopped talking as she ran out of things to say. She didn't think she'd missed anything that might be useful out.

[Llalta]

After leaving the ruins, he somehow managed to find the dorms. He guessed he had to go into the 'Villain' dorms, a term he still questions. He chose the room furthest from the entrance, which was less occupied. He made sure to organise his clothes, folding them neatly. Photos and stationery soon cluttered the desk in the corner too. After he was done, the walls were covered in papers, each with sketches of what seems like building designs and characters, like a curtain of paper.

The next few days were, boring to say the least. He managed to learn the names of the other 'villains'. Trinity, who he still hasn't managed to work out his/her ability. Trinity also seemed to have some kind of slave, Kaarina, who hung around her in what was probably fear. It was also quite amusing watching her trek to Trinity's room just so she can change. He wasn't sure why, but it was certainly quite funny. Other than that he had almost interaction from them other than glares from Trinity. He also noticed that he was one of the, if not the youngest person there.

They gathered in the hall, with the ever-so-charismatic Izumi, or Shogun or whatever. She was being her normal, uptight self, talking about being a 'villain' as if she was completely innocent, being a SUAHT member and all. Yeah, like innocent people shouldn't be labeled as a villain. Besides, he thought that they were supposed to work together as superiors, not segregated into naughty and nice. She rambled about on more about being a villain blah blah blah...

Then she said something that woke up Esther. "Live fire testing"? Classified? What is this, the military? He felt like he was training to be in the MI5 or FBI, if you're self-centered. It sounded like a physical activity, something which wasn't Esther's strong point. And, to make matters worse, apparently a 'team versus team exercise'. He wasn't bothered by the 'versus' section, in fact, he liked a bit of competitveness. Unless he lost. But a team activity? He didn't like working with people, especially not those he barely knows. To him it was like hell.

He thought of dozens of questions, but he wasn't sure if Izumi would kick his ass back to England for them. He decided to wait. Maybe someone else would have the guts to ask them. He stayed at the back and rolled his eyes, every so often glancing at Izumi with distaste.

[Auphelia]

Time Skip: 3 Days

“Villain is a label given to many people, but it ultimately means nothing. Maybe it means someone that goes against everything that’s expected. I don’t know. You can ask people what a villain is and get a different answer from everyone else. I’ve heard the title applied to professional criminals, terrorists, random people with powers who haven’t really done much at all, and others. Some of us just have it worse than others in terms of the media firestorm after various incidents, and well, us villains have it worse than anyone, probably. Even if we never think of ourselves as that. I never want you all to forget that,” said Izumi Satoshi, speaking in the other auditorium on the other side of campus.

“The last point I want to make to you today is that in SUAHT, we fought to save people like you, and all it gave us was the villain tag and even more heat from the Commission than anyone else had. Never put any thought into what label they give you. It doesn’t matter. I’m sure you all have your reasons for becoming villains. Some of you might want more things for your family, or you might have been forced into fighting the law because of the Commission’s practices, or whatever. Doesn’t matter. The point is, keep those goals close to yourself and always remember them. That’s what matters. Not the Commission declaring you a villain. If you focus on that, you won’t lose your way.”

She paused after finishing, looking across the crowd. “Now, there’s one more thing to say. All of you will be involved in a live fire training exercise soon enough, and while the details of the exercise are classified for now, you have a chance to ask questions that may help you later. Choose your questions wisely. Ask good ones, and you might just find yourself with an advantage over your rivals from the hero team when the time comes. This will be, of course, a team versus team exercise.”

Regina

She sat near but apart from the other students, still remaining quiet. She hadn't really talked to anyone the past three days, or even the past week. This entire time she had been like a shadow. She doubted anyone knew she was here, using her power to allow her to slip between rooms without being noticed. People were fine, and she knew she would most likely welcome the company if someone approached her, but she also knew she couldn't bring herself to make the first move. It left her thinking about others, and when the last time was she spoke to someone about something other than decisions that had life-or-death stakes. She didn't really know, but had grown used to it. After her sister had been captured it had been easy to go without worrying about communicating out loud. She had been followed by a small team, someone with super senses, a speedster, and some sort of Hulk-like woman. It had been tough after they seemed to dedicate themselves to tracking her down. Stupid Ankara, with Commission agents to spare. Weeks flew by, a blind race to . . . somewhere. Safety, she supposed, though she had forgotten what that felt like. Into the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, a ship to India, running north to China. A fast paced, never ending chase. Until the Spectre people had found her. She was safe now. Or rather, safer. There was no true safety anymore. She didn't quite know what to make of this woman at the front. Not particularly caring, her persona seemed designed to command respect. Regina liked her. She didn't know as much English as many of the kids here, but she could follow along easily enough. Blah, definitions of words, inspiration tempered by pragmatism, blah blah blah. She was on autopilot, making small swirls in the concrete at her feet until she heard the words "live fire". Apparently they would be participating in some sort of training exercise. With weapons. Against each other. Teams, apparently. Huh.

She knew that based on some of her actions she could be considered a villain, but she had never seen herself that way. On the run everything was fair game. Sure, billions in public property had been damaged or destroyed by her and her brother, but it was all to escape the Commission. If she had to be a villain, she would be a good one. A one for the ages. A -

Other kids were shouting out questions with reckless abandon, shouting to be heard in the large area. It was silly. All would be revealed on the battlefield.

[Arengin Union]

Undisclosed Location.
2024.

The massive rectangular window spread to catch the beauty of a world largely unscathed by the modern touch of man, the panoramic view breathtaking as always, the music fluid and tranquil to the ear. It was perfect, a place to always appreciate, to always go back to. Not to get bothered with ineptitude and news of less than favorable matter. To him it was perfect, a moment he treasured for hours on end, he could sit for hours just listening to the next track and just admiring the view, such a beautiful view.

It was always an activity he looked forward to, observe, every detail of the earth and its mountains, the rivers and vegetation covering it all up like a bed sheet on a fine bed. How one rock would not be in the same place as the day or week before, at times he spent months away from such a treasured view that seeing it again was like remaking a puzzle or endless proportions that was never taken apart but always still and despite as small as they were, the details were of such magnificence, so hard for him to ignore.

The music kept on playing, the sound of the piano keys followed by a light hum as he poured more wine into his glass. His white suit made him fit among the room, sitting on that lonely chair that had stayed constant in place for so long. Klaus Schünemann had been sitting in this very chair for hours on end, he had done this more than once and he always enjoyed it, it was the littlest of things that made him smile. How quiet and tranquil everything was, the deliciously bitter glass of wine in his hand, the bottle on the other.

He looked at the bottle, the label read 1959, Lafite Rothschild was the name. "A most perfect harvest," he said with such softness in his voice that it was barely audible despite how vast and empty the room was.

For Klaus this was the reward of so many years of hard labor, the fact he could do this for hours on end and still earn millions of dollars every hour. He had achieved what so few could, to make a second rate weapon company inherited from his father, into a world class conglomerate, only a few could say they had done such thing.

The many thoughts in his head were interrupted by the sudden loud steps incoming from the hallway leading to the room. Just from the pacing and the sound of the steps alone Klaus already knew who this person was.

"Suleiman! What do I owe the pleasure." Klaus said before the person even arrived to him. Suddenly the steps ceased, Suleiman as he was called remained still and stiff as he stood a few meters away from his boss who kept admiring the view.

Suleiman kept his usual monotone expression as he looked over to his pad which then showed several stats and reports. "Good morning Klaus. I have the recent reports on Subject 42-GEN, our satellites last detected it o-" Suleiman was suddenly interrupted by Klaus simply raising his hand, a motion of silence.

"Don't describer her as, 'It'... Suleiman... she is not an object, she is not just an 'It.' She bears the future, a future that not even I can yet comprehend but I can grasp it's true nature. Such potential deserves respect, even from you." Klaus fell silent again, a few seconds went by which told Suleiman that he could proceed.

"Apologies. Well... she was last detected over in Eastern France before she disappeared off the radar. The Commission and the CSCB are trying to locate her still. Hallser recently finished an assignment of cooperation we had with the Russian government, he will be assigned to the search and collection team soon enough." Suleiman closed off the pad and setting it inside his jacket he waited for Klaus to say anything. The music was still playing, a new melody had started, Klaus immediately recognized it.

"Nocturne in E-flat major... by Chopin. Such a fine tune, a sonnet to the ears." A smile was present in Klaus's face as he took in the melody.

"Do you listen to the arts of the past, Suleiman my friend?" Klaus asked, his eyes still closed and his voice soft and tranquil as always.

Suleiman looked around him, his face seemingly uninterested in the conversation. "Uhmmm yeah, sure. I have listened to Beethoven, ahhh Mozart..."

Klaus made his disdain apparent as he gave a quick puff from his mouth at the words coming from his colleague. He didn't even try to hide it.

"I'm sorry?" Suleiman asked with confusion.

Klaus opened his eyes, he took a sip from the glass and then he cleared Suleiman's confusion.

"You have no idea how many times I have heard those names. One hears the name of the men who took the spotlight for centuries to come, but only a true connoisseur knows that they are not the backbone of what art in the sound is. That is why it is important for us to always acknowledge things as what they are Suleiman, not what we want them to be." Klaus took a short pause as he inhaled in the air of the room, cold and dry. He continued, "Subject 34 may be just an objective to you, an object that we must re acquire, but to me, I can see the real blessing she carries within her. My legacy, I have made millions of people's lives better from the things that I've made possibly through our companies, but I will not live forever to continue such accomplishments. That is why we must find her, she holds the key to the future..."

Suleiman broke his silence, "Of course Klaus. I will make sure we find her." He approached the seat and gently set his hand on Klaus's shoulder, a tap of confidence and trust between the two men.

"Please Suleiman, let no harm come to her, or those that are with her. That is a favor I ask of you."

"I'll make sure that she will return with no harm whatsoever."

Klaus smiled and he gently patted Suleiman's hand. Suleiman then began walking out of the room, leaving Klaus to his view.

[Forest State]

“Everyone being on the same team would only work in an ideal world where everyone agreed on methods, ideologies, and stances on various other subjects. While it would be better for unity, it’s simply not practical. You’re never going to see groups like, say, the Order of Saints and SUAHT train together as one, merging in a way. But what you see now, this is as close as we’ll get to that. A truce between two sides that still remain distinctly different from each other,” LaFlame said in answer to Clover’s question. “Only time will tell how long this system works out.”

***

“The answer to your first question is classified. That is, I am not permitted at this time to tell you how much of the information is under wraps. You’ll just have to figure it out for yourself. The reason behind the classification of this exercise is to give you all and added challenge and see just how much you know at this point, before you’ve started any training formally. There will be no limits on powers, and you will be unarmed for this exercise,” Izumi stated, looking through the group of students and resting her eyes on Kaarina. “I am permitted to tell you that the exercise will happen in the British Isles, and your goal will be the simulated recovery of a marked target.”

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She let out an audible gulp as Izumi's eyes came to rest on her, shuffling nervously and finding a sudden interest in looking at the floor. "If we're unarmed and powers are unlimited, what are those of us with..." She searched for the words. "Uh, non-combat powers supposed to do to fight?" She fell back into silence before she thought of another idea. "If we're recovering a target, does that mean the other team will be defending that target, or will..." She stumbled over her words. "Will both teams be removing the 'marked target? Will we be able to acquire weapons?"

She went back over the questions that hadn't been answered. Nope, nothing. Okay. She fell back into silence.

[Forest State]

“I see you have a very simplistic and narrow minded way of looking at things, Kaarina,” said Izumi, still looking into her eyes as she stood at the front of the room. “One of the quickest things you will learn in this business is that you don’t necessarily need a weapon to have success and defend yourself. In fact, I would say it’s a necessary skill to learn to protect yourself when you’re around stronger rivals, because you should always assume that your enemy has someone stronger than you. Unless one of you is the most powerful person in the world, that’s something that you all should be working on right now. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't be here.”

“So no, you won’t receive a weapon. If your powers aren’t applicable to combat, tough luck,” she continued. “And both teams will be after the same target. The ‘winner’ of the exercise is the one that secures the target first. You’ll learn the specific terms of what exactly securing the target means once we’re closer to the time that you head to the site.”

[Auphelia]

“I see you have a very simplistic and narrow minded way of looking at things, Kaarina,” said Izumi, still looking into her eyes as she stood at the front of the room. “One of the quickest things you will learn in this business is that you don’t necessarily need a weapon to have success and defend yourself. In fact, I would say it’s a necessary skill to learn to protect yourself when you’re around stronger rivals, because you should always assume that your enemy has someone stronger than you. Unless one of you is the most powerful person in the world, that’s something that you all should be working on right now. If you can't handle that, you shouldn't be here.”

“So no, you won’t receive a weapon. If your powers aren’t applicable to combat, tough luck,” she continued. “And both teams will be after the same target. The ‘winner’ of the exercise is the one that secures the target first. You’ll learn the specific terms of what exactly securing the target means once we’re closer to the time that you head to the site.”

Regina

She stood up and bowed to the teacher, respecting the woman's authority while trying to establish she wished to speak. It could never hurt to be polite to a self-described villain.

"Excuse me," she said, and cleared her throat, her thick accent wrapping itself around the English clumsily. "Is attacking team hero, the team of heroes, good or no? I do not want to receive trouble."

There was probably a better way to say that, but she was nervous and screaming to herself in several languages she had picked up while on the run. She just had to deal with the attention for now, and hopefully not look like an idiot.

[Khasinkonia]

Corentina-Elouana Koaduuiueg

As it would seem, there was only one question for me to ask here. Unknowns are fine, after all. Math, one of the ways we humans try to understand nature, has all sorts of tricks for unknowns, as long as one has a known. So I needed that known. For me, it’s likely not a question to any who know me what that one question I needed to ask would be: What would be the terrain, the environment?

Whether this mission was to take place in the rolling hills of the countryside or the inside of a city would make a great difference what courses of action I would likely be able to take, as nature in a city is quite noticeably less common, being that an urban environment is designed by people, for people. My personal hope was for us to be on a mission somewhere in those distant and isolated Scottish islands, where nature is far stronger than in the bustling cities of London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, etc.

As such, I sat up straight to ask my question before any others had a chance to pop in before me.

“If I might ask, what is the terrain we shall be preforming in this mission be like?”

---

Audrey Leisagh

Thus far, my stay with Specter had been a mixed bag. It can’t be denied that there isn’t much to be done about the fact that this bizarre pregnancy makes walking a lot harder than it would be otherwise. Even walking is tough. There isn’t much they can do for me it seems, but still. I weigh like 85 pounds more than I should. That is not normal. Not at all, and nobody can tell me it is. It became pretty apparent that I’d be rising early with morning sickness anyway, so the fact that I managed to get here on time with everyone else actually shouldn’t make me so proud. I suppose my legs have become stronger having to carry this weight, and maybe they experimented on me in other ways, but there’s still no way I’m moving much faster than a walk.

These seats felt small. They had the courtesy to provide my with a softer chair than most. I basically had office chair of sorts was in place of the seats everyone else had. It was a good thing, too; it always felt like I have my freshmen book bag resting on my lap, maybe worse, when I sat. Among other less than ideal positions, I was between two wonderful, wonderful individuals, both of whom I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of properly meeting. On one side was a fellow who evidently fancied himself too cool for us lot for whatever reason, and on the other side was an evidently non-native English speaker who was actually raising a quite valid question. Her standing up had distracted from my right hand, daintily raised next to my head to try and get a follow-up question to the one that other girl had asked regarding less combat-oriented Superiors. More specifically, what on earth was to be done about yours truly, the pregnant non-combat Superior. Hopefully the answer would be a bit more useful than the previous one of ‘suck it up,’ when the time came.

Seeing as our instructor, a woman by the name of Izumi—it still feels odd not using honourifics like ‘Mr.’ and ‘Ms.’ for people older than me who commanded authority—had all of warm compassion of an island in Nunavut in the winter, it was certainly foreseeable that she’d just drop us into the meat grinder when the time came. This would certainly be one of the times to be thankful for my tendency to go unnoticed, although it would be nice to have my quandary acknowledged. Especially considering the lot of us villains would be graded on this thing, to my understanding. Maybe that pale girl who’d asked the first question and I could lay low together if circumstance allowed it.

Good Lord, it feels warm in here. My older relatives weren’t kidding at all when they said pregnancy was no joke. Since asking to increase the air conditioning would probably go rather poorly for me, I’d been keeping a fan I’d gotten many years ago in Disney World on me for situations like this. With my free left hand, I made use of that hand fan. It was a bit better, though certainly still too hot. Much too hot. Why couldn’t they have picked a nice secret base on St. George’s island, or maybe Svalbard? Somewhere nice and cool would have been better with this infantile radiator in me. More likely these, with emphasis on the plural, actually. At least we were supposedly going off to Britain for this exercise.

Another joy of pregnancy, especially this bizarre one, was being hungry a lot more than I was useful. For whatever reason, lately, as it happened, I’d been feeling the compulsion to do something unheard of for me: eat. Not just the insane three meals per day that most people expected me to eat, no, these days it’s like I’m insatiable—in a distinctly different way than normal. Food, food, food. If I just put up with this hunger, maybe they’d stop growing like this? Probably not. Hopefully regular snacking would keep keeping it all under control. This is a hell of a price to pay for getting free.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

So, no weapons, no combat powers. Great... Just great. The sole plus point from that was that she wasn't about to get shot at and although she wasn't that fast, she thought that her stamina was quite good so if nothing else she could try running away and hiding. It had worked well enough in Europe, it would work here too. Hopefully.

She glanced over at Trinity. Or she could stick close to Trinity and hope that she was actually serious and kept her word about protecting her from things that weren't herself. That sounded better, much better, since running away, well, you could always get caught. And if Trinity didn't protect her then she still had running away as a valid option.

Wait. They might not even need to fight. If they just had to secure the target that just meant they had to get there first and then get the hell out of there with the target. No need to fight at all. That was far more her kind of thing. Sneak in, secure target. No fighting, violence or risk of injury involved at all. Suddenly she felt a whole lot better about this entire situation, and leaned back in her chair, now relaxed. Hopefully this whole thing wouldn't be too bad.

[New Antonalia]

Samantha Watts

Samantha wasn't sure what to think of anyone yet. Despite being put in the "Heroes" dorm, she didn't feel she belonged there, nor did she feel she belonged in the "Villains" dorm either. She wasn't sure who she was, and yet, she'd been given an answer by the school. "If they think I could be a hero, then I might as well give it a shot." She thought as the days flew by. Thankfully, no one had noticed her yet and she was able to get through the days without any major confrontations, apart from bumping into another student every now and again. She'd also had the chance to slip away and work on some pet projects of hers, mainly her gauntlets and battery pack that helped her control her power. Unfortunately, she was about to be put in a situation where she would have to use her powers against other students. She dreaded it, especially since, in her mind, heroes had to abide by a sense of morality, something the villains didn't have to worry about. "Uh, sir, will we be issued equipment for this or would we have to provide our own?" Samantha said, finally speaking up after almost three days of silence.

[Llalta]

Esther Winterbourne

'British Isles'? This was almost meant for him, coming from England and all. He moved around a lot so his knowledge of the country was fairly good. Not to mention his good map reading. This would give the villains an obvious advantage, granted everything went smoothly and that they didn't know much about the UK. He wasn't saying it was easy, but he certainly felt a bit more confident. He looked at Izumi, who seemed to be lecturing Kaarina.

[Grenartia]

“Everyone being on the same team would only work in an ideal world where everyone agreed on methods, ideologies, and stances on various other subjects. While it would be better for unity, it’s simply not practical. You’re never going to see groups like, say, the Order of Saints and SUAHT train together as one, merging in a way. But what you see now, this is as close as we’ll get to that. A truce between two sides that still remain distinctly different from each other,” LaFlame said in answer to Clover’s question. “Only time will tell how long this system works out.”

"I don't know, it just seems like there's gotta some way to accommodate the differences without directly increasing the tensions between them. It just seems like we're getting mixed messages. "No 'Heroes vs Villains' fighting, and, oh, by the way, the heroes and villains will be directly competing against each other"" they replied, before other questions came forward.

“If I might ask, what is the terrain we shall be preforming in this mission be like?”

"Uh, sir, will we be issued equipment for this or would we have to provide our own?" Samantha said, finally speaking up after almost three days of silence.

"Also, if we're going to be doing this exercise away from the sanctuary, what are we supposed to do in the event of a Commission raid? I know what you said about staying in the shadows during hero work, but there's gotta be some plan for us to get back here if things go south, right?" they asked, finally on topic.

[Forest State]

“I believe I’ve already said that the exercise is a team versus team one, Regina. Attacking the other side is the very point. At least, it is on the smaller scale, with evaluation being the larger goal,” explained Izumi. She then took a brief look at Esther. “And yes, I’m aware of where you’re from. No, we aren’t headed to the place that you would be familiar with, even if we are headed in that general direction,” she added, and then she directed her attention at the pregnant girl who was raising her hand. “Did you have a question, Audrey?”

***

“For this exercise, you will be unarmed. Other equipment such as maps may be provided to you on the day of your departure, but I can’t go into those details right now. We do have contingency plans for the event that the Commission becomes involved, but like everything we do, there is some risk involved. I won’t make promises and say that everything will go perfectly if things deviate from the plan. Because that would be a lie. But in situations like this… We’re sometimes left with no options that don’t involve risk,” LaFlame stated. “And while we considered waiting before putting students into a risky situation early on, we have our own reasons which you will find out in the future for doing so.”

“As the exercise will happen in the British Isles, I can say that there is a good chance of some rain. Expect a cold and wet environment, in urban and suburban terrain. I’m able to confirm that we’ll be operating in an urban area despite the present risk, and that’s something you’ll have to account into your plans to avoid drawing attention to yourselves. While this is a training exercise, the consequences of not staying out of trouble are very real and a possible danger,” he added, answering Elouana's question.

[Yellowstone-]

Jonas

Jonas walks into the entrance to Hadley Academy “Hello people” he says. He looks around and thinks “Soon I will become one of the most powerful people on Earth”.

[Khasinkonia]

Audrey Leisagh

I smiled lightly at her prompt acknowledgment of me, nodding politely as I shifted my position in my chair to sit up more straight and proper.

“Uh, yes ma’am,” I softly said, then beginning to raise my voice to carry better as it occurred that I was near the back of the room, “I understand you’ve already told others to make use of what’s there, but I’d like to ask specifically regarding myself. Currently, I’m not in any condition to really be able to move effectively, as you can see, so would it be considered beneficial to the team if I stayed behind at like a checkpoint or something to keep watch? I know I’m a villain, and this is a training exercise, but I don’t have powers that really work in combat, and I’m really in no condition to keep pace or do much physical exertion. Again, really sorry if this is a frustratingly repetitive question, but, uh, it is a big concern to me.”

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Eli Stephens

I listened to what our instructor had to say, her speech being rather inspriring in my opinion. Apparently we are to go on a mock mission, heroes versus villains, of course, with a capture-the-objective goal, and despite the classified details, there were some questions she was willing to answer, such as location and what weapons we are allowed to use, which were none. With my own question in mind, I decided to give it a go.

“About securing the target, are we to move the target to a specified location, or is it simply whoever nabs the target first?” I asked, because if it was as I thought, I could play a more important role. Though I would have to wait, as another person asked her own question first, so the instructer will have to answer that question before she gets to mine.

[Forest State]

“If you’re looking for an easy way out, Miss Leisagh, you aren’t going to get it. While you may be limited, that’s something that can happen in the field. You think the Commission would care that you’re pregnant and can’t move properly? You’ll have to talk to your teammates and figure something out as far as your role is concerned. You aren’t going to get an exception from the academy itself, but your teammates may have useful ideas,” Izumi stated flatly.

She looked around for more questions and then settled her eyes on Eli. “The winner of the exercise will be the first one to secure the target, not the one to deliver it back to a location. You’ll know more about this target when we arrive at the site, but we on the staff believe that just locating the target will be a large enough challenge for all of you. Now, since most of you don’t seem to have questions, I’m going to wrap up this session. You are all dismissed for the day. However, if you’re smart, you’ll spend some time planning for the upcoming trip rather than running off to talk with your friends about trivial matters.”

[Grenartia]

“For this exercise, you will be unarmed. Other equipment such as maps may be provided to you on the day of your departure, but I can’t go into those details right now. We do have contingency plans for the event that the Commission becomes involved, but like everything we do, there is some risk involved. I won’t make promises and say that everything will go perfectly if things deviate from the plan. Because that would be a lie. But in situations like this… We’re sometimes left with no options that don’t involve risk,” LaFlame stated. “And while we considered waiting before putting students into a risky situation early on, we have our own reasons which you will find out in the future for doing so.”

“As the exercise will happen in the British Isles, I can say that there is a good chance of some rain. Expect a cold and wet environment, in urban and suburban terrain. I’m able to confirm that we’ll be operating in an urban area despite the present risk, and that’s something you’ll have to account into your plans to avoid drawing attention to yourselves. While this is a training exercise, the consequences of not staying out of trouble are very real and a possible danger,” he added, answering Elouana's question.

Clover raised their hand once more. "So, what is the contingency plan? Or is that classified, too?"

At least their powers will be useful in a populated area, they thought to themself. Even if they can't do some of the more blatant powers, its not like anyone without powers could see them manipulating things that are invisible anyways. And, besides, they always wanted to visit the UK. Cold and wet is a nice change from hot and wet, after all.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She wasn't entirely sure what to do after Izumi dismissed them. Panicking seemed like a good idea, since rule number one was panicking was and always would be an option, but it was an option that would get nothing done. Oddly enough, the most useful part of that entire briefing had been an off-hand comment from Izumi about how merely locating the target would be a challenge.

As someone who was quite good at hiding, that meant one of three things; one, they were mobile. Two, they were holed up in some hideaway in the middle of absolutely nowhere and it'd be hide and seek. Three, they'd be in a city and it'd be like one of those spy films where you were trying to find one in a sea of thousands. She'd done the first and the last, and so she knew how to do them and thus knew how to deal with them. The second would be far more awkward, but she could improvise.

But as she left the classroom, panicking was replaced by the other intrinsic thought everyone had when facing a problem; make it someone else's problem. That was to say, go to a higher authority and expect them to fix it themselves or have a way to fix it. And right now, well, that higher authority here for her was Trinity. And so she slowly made her way back towards their dorm block, waiting patiently outside of Trinity's room for her to show up. She probably wouldn't like her entering of her own accord since, well, it wasn't her room after all.

Even if it had all her stuff in it and her own room was barren.

[Forest State]

“We will have other Specter units on site for this exercise. In the event that things go poorly enough, these units will be able to step in and attempt to salvage things. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, however, because such an event would mean a failing grade for both teams,” LaFlame explained. “Now, there don’t seem to be more questions, so you are dismissed for the day. We’ll leave for the exercise tomorrow, so be sure to do any other preparations today. We’ll depart late in the night with the goal of arriving in the morning or afternoon.”

Trinity Mathieu

When everyone was dismissed, Trinity was one of the last ones out of the room. Not because she had something else to do in the auditorium, or because she wanted to talk to someone, but because her mind was on other things. Her mind was hardly tamed, in fact, and her body was just going through the motions of walking back to the dorms area. It took a lot of her energy just to stay composed, focused, and outwardly calm. But the storm would pass. It always would, and she had other things to worry about for now.

She found Kaarina standing outside of her doorway, and that was just who she was looking for. She pushed the girl against the door in her typical rough fashion, one of her hands traveling to her neck. It wasn’t to do actual damage, because she wasn’t squeezing down, but she was making a point that she was still the one in control of her “ally”. She had something that she needed done, and she didn’t want to leave any doubts that Kaarina would be the one to do it. “I require your help,” she said flatly, leaning about an inch or so from Kaarina’s face.

[Lunas Legion]

Kaarina Laine

She'd learned not to bother trying to fight back whenever Trinity decided to push her around. She wasn't strong enough to fight and win, and fighting and losing would be just painful. So she let herself get pushed back up against the door, the back of her head backing against it causing her to wince slightly in pain, one of Trinity's hands moving to her neck but merely resting there, doing nothing. A threat in waiting but not motion.

Trinity's face pressed in close to hers, and asked for her help. There wasn't much she could say or do to reply other than to look at the floor and mumble out a weak "Help with what?" It wasn't like she could help with much that Trinity couldn't do herself, so it wouldn't be too taxing. Hopefully.

[Auphelia]

Kaarina Laine

She'd learned not to bother trying to fight back whenever Trinity decided to push her around. She wasn't strong enough to fight and win, and fighting and losing would be just painful. So she let herself get pushed back up against the door, the back of her head backing against it causing her to wince slightly in pain, one of Trinity's hands moving to her neck but merely resting there, doing nothing. A threat in waiting but not motion.

Trinity's face pressed in close to hers, and asked for her help. There wasn't much she could say or do to reply other than to look at the floor and mumble out a weak "Help with what?" It wasn't like she could help with much that Trinity couldn't do herself, so it wouldn't be too taxing. Hopefully.

Regina

She tried to slip back into her room but the hall was blocked by two girls who were . . . either fighting or in love. Either way, it was uncomfortable. They weren't exactly filling the entire hall, but it would be odd to try to slip past and not say anything. So the best course of action was obviously to just get it over with. Eventually she would have to say hello to someone, if only to find allies here, and now was as good a time as any. If she could bring herself to ask a question then she could talk to these girls. No problem. Here she goes. Okay, right now. She's gonna do it. She will talk to people. Look out world. Okay. She's ready. Aaaanndddd . . . now. Okay, that's fine, she had the jitters. One more try. Nope. No movement. Try it again . . . nothing. Okay, last shot, now! Now. Now! Okay, she just has to psych herself up. Whoo. Okay . . . now.

As if breaking from a mould that had held her in place she lurched forward suddenly and almost lost her balance, stumbling over her feet and knocking into the two girls, and grabbing onto anything to keep herself upright. With a loud rip she fails miserably, and her face meets the ground while her fist is filled with the bottom half of one of the girls' shirts. This was less than ideal, to be sure.

"I am . . . I'm so sorry. I apologise. Oh my dear, let me just . . . ack . . ," she mutters, attempting to get up. After a few seconds of scrambling she does, but realises that she lost concentration and is now made out of the same stone as the floor of this hall. A tile is stuck to her foot and slowly melding into her. Keeping one leg carefully perched up off the ground while it absorbs, she tries to salvage her wreck of an introduction.

"Hello. I am sorry for falling on you. My name is Regina. What are your names?"

[Forest State]

Trinity Mathieu

When the strange girl showed up and fell on her, it seemed to trigger Trinity’s power. She slammed into the ground and let go of Kaarina, but she felt an influx of strength and quickly pushed Regina back. And well, she wanted to take advantage of that, maybe absorb a hit or two and let her strength grow to the point where she would be able to lift and throw around the new girl without a problem. It was a good thing if she could assert some authority before they really knew each other. It would help in the future, for sure.

“I don’t think that’s your business, is it? What were you doing walking into our business?” she asked, moving to hold Regina by the neck in the same way that she had just been holding Kaarina. Her voice, despite her words, was pretty calm. But her actions were the opposite, and she started pushing Regina backwards with the aim of pinning her to the wall at the end of the hallway. “Get the fuck out of here. I’m working on something, it’s not for you. You have a problem with that, you can get knocked out just like everyone else that’s tried the same thing.”

[The Cross and Davids Star]

Eli Stephens

With all questions answered, the instructor let me and the other villains go, with I having no real idea where to go next, so where better to go than the therapist? That where I usually went during my free time at school, spending time with someone who is sympathetic. Apparently, this was deja vu. However, I had no idea where the therapist’s office actually was, so I was forced to wander around to find out.

Soon enough, I found it. I walked into the office, found a seat, and waited for her to notice me.