Awake in Prefeton (Superpowers Char RP|IC, Signup, Open)

[Europa Undivided]

"..-billies. I mean you sons of hill-billies."

Smirking evilly, Dallas continued. "I see the both of you decided to settle down and finally get a life together. Always knew you two were meant to be. And as for this here young lady..."

"I suppose.", Nikita replied, watching as Dallas tried to give Moira a beef jerky, which she seemed to dislike; shook her head to express her distate for jerkies. Either way, he hugged Dallas rather tightly, which would be something that the latter should be quite used to by now. "It's good to see you, Dallas." From what he could recall, Dallas had an inhuman ability to wield Six Shooter firearms, and could sense danger around himself. A gunslinger with precognition it seems.

He was rather busy babysitting a young girl, though, and wouldn't be able to do much with Dallas at the moment. Nikolai, in the other hand, approached the cowboy... boy, and hugged him too, before looking right into his eyes. "Come with us if you want to continue to exist."

At the moment, though, there was a lot other chatter going around. Sally was here, and so was Bridget. Those two he hadn't seen since... Harvest Ball? Either way, there was no more time for chitchat, and he kept his attention forward, waiting for Teff's signal...

Annie patted Nikita on the shoulder and murmured, “Thank you.”

"Thank you too.", Nikita had responded. He watched as Annie dropped into the shadows, running out to distract the guards from their posts. Kristen and Atalia had been out there too, and his brother noted that they were screaming quite loudly. Nikolai didn't seem to believe that Kristen had such a big scream, but, well, now they could hear her. And by the looks of it, Team A had accomplished their objective, with the guards leaving the entrance of the military base unattended. Everything was going according to plan. Now, they just needed for Annie to lure away the guards in the other side, and for the principal's signal.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Annie O’Cassidy
Fág an Bealach

She gave Clayton a brief wave before wordlessly sliding into the darkness and going in the opposite direction to Kristen to lure away the guards on the other side. She ducked in and out of the shadows while whistling loudly all the time. Screaming would scare her cousins—something she hoped not to do. She wasn’t as fast as the other girls, but she made up for it with presence and slipping away in every direction through the darkness. As soon as her pursuers seemed to catch on to where she was headed, she’d slip behind them through the shadows and evade their tasers. She was never much of a runner, so her ability to slide between them as a shadow was nothing short of a godsend. It also had the benefit of allowing her to punch them from the shadow realm, as she found when she tried to throw a punch at the moonlit shadow of one just to see if it would work.

The soldier stumbled, though he took the punch, unexpected as it was relatively well. The attack though, did not have the desired effect. He wheeled, taser at the ready, then reached for his radio, "We've been ambushed. We need everyone at the base, now!"

Either through ignorance of what exactly they were supposed to do, forgetfulness or some other reason, nobody had used the psychic link to inform Maurice of what was going on and the message that the troopers had been lured away from the front door had not been passed onto Tobias or Pennel. Abruptly though, a siren began to blare from inside the base. Tobias had been leaning on the side of the car, though as he heard it he pushed off, "Shit!" he swore, "Everybody still here, we need to head for the main building, now!"

The base was remarkably small, and once you made it through the main gate, there was a drive leading gently uphill to the four storey building that seemed to be the only edifice in the base. There were plenty of trees, but just the one building. It was grey, with concrete walls, a flat roof and rows of unadorned recessed windows. It was an unpleasant looking building, stark and brutalist. A steel double door seemed to be the only way in. It was closed though it seemed unlikely it would keep the group out, even if it were locked. The pair of troopers who had been guarding were still in the woods though, no doubt, they would be back soon. Strangely, the siren didn't seem to have brought the attention of anyone else on the base...

"Williamson, you heard anything from Team A?" Tobias asked, "If they're not dead, tell them to get up here, now. We can't be waiting around or we're all dead."

Hew paused before adding, "Clark, do you want to get that door?"

It was locked, as it so happened.

[Bingellia]

Maurice

"Williamson, you heard anything from Team A?" Tobias asked, "If they're not dead, tell them to get up here, now. We can't be waiting around or we're all dead."

"We're going in to the base, " Maurice spoke surprisingly calmly to the away team given the circumstance. "And you all need to get back to us, now, or you may not make it before the guards return." Looking at the door, he was curious to see just how badly Allison, or anyone else for that matter, could tear up a steel door.

Though unlike Tobias's acknowledgement that there was a risk that Team A could be dead, Maurice knew that that they weren't by virtue of the fact that none of the connections had been broken. The fact that he hadn't heard any pained grunts and screams from any of the members of Team A also meant that they were also not wounded badly enough to be unable to move. "They're fine too, at least currently," he added as he glanced over to Tefford in the corner of his eyes.

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark


Allison ducked down behind the cars as she waited for the signal to move. Waiting was by far the worse part, the calm before the storm. This brief moment of inaction, unfortunately, gave Allison time to think. Maybe this wasn't the best course of action? What if we fail? What if we get killed? All these thoughts crossed her mind, causing some form of anxiety.

It was a feeling she hated. These types of emotions Allison had worked hard to get rid of when she competed in MMA. She couldn't afford to think negatively back then or else those thoughts would manifest into reality and she would fail before she began. Now that she was in a situation where lives were on the line, the thoughts were brought forth beyond her control. Allison was now fearful that they had failed before they began and it would only be a matter of time.

Then came the siren from within the base. The guards had sounded the alarm upon finding the distraction team. This prompted Tefford to order everyone to the main building. No more thoughts, now was the time for action. Allison took off towards the building, following Tefford's lead. All she saw before them was the building with two large metal door in the front. Apparently that was their destination because Tefford ordered her to open the door.

" Got it!" Allison called out as she rushed ahead, using her strength to gain some speed.

As soon as she was in front of the door, Allison planted her feet. She twisted her hip to generate all the momentum she needed for her punch. Using every bit of her power, her fist slammed through locking mechanism of the double doors and out the other side. She then shoved her other hand into the opening she created and forced the door open. As soon as it was open, Allison stepped away from the doorway and took cover.

" Door's open." Allison exclaimed, hugging the exterior wall of the building.

[Europa Undivided]

Nikolai and Nikita followed closely behind Allison as Tefford signalled for them to move forward towards the building, watching every step as they did so. Nikita in particular looked over this shoulder every now and then, suspicious that there would be a guard trying to get the jump on them. Though, given the nature of the guards so far, they would most probably point guns and scream at the teens and their principal to put their hands behind their heads, then get down on the ground.

Teff's attitude towards the others was rather disheartening though, as they were already in a dangerous situation, and he was already giving a suggestion that they could be dead. Don't jinx it.

" Door's open." Allison exclaimed, hugging the exterior wall of the building.

"Let's get going then." Nikita, who then turned to see Nikolai with a pair of ice chains on his hands that were still smoking with icy mist, though he was in the process of sticking one of their things on his cane. "What are you gonna do about those?"

"Can't ever be too careful." Nikolai said, glancing at Nikita and Moira, and then at Maurice and Gilligan. "I don't think I can stab anyone with an ice sword yet... So I will use non-lethal methods..."

He then leaned back at the exterior wall besides Allison, looking at Tefford. "After you, sir."

[Talchyon]

Running through woods
Kristen Lane

Annie O’Cassidy
Fág an Bealach

She gave Clayton a brief wave before wordlessly sliding into the darkness and going in the opposite direction to Kristen to lure away the guards on the other side. She ducked in and out of the shadows while whistling loudly all the time. Screaming would scare her cousins—something she hoped not to do. She wasn’t as fast as the other girls, but she made up for it with presence and slipping away in every direction through the darkness. As soon as her pursuers seemed to catch on to where she was headed, she’d slip behind them through the shadows and evade their tasers. She was never much of a runner, so her ability to slide between them as a shadow was nothing short of a godsend. It also had the benefit of allowing her to punch them from the shadow realm, as she found when she tried to throw a punch at the moonlit shadow of one just to see if it would work.

The soldier stumbled, though he took the punch, unexpected as it was relatively well. The attack though, did not have the desired effect. He wheeled, taser at the ready, then reached for his radio, "We've been ambushed. We need everyone at the base, now!"

Either through ignorance of what exactly they were supposed to do, forgetfulness or some other reason, nobody had used the psychic link to inform Maurice of what was going on and the message that the troopers had been lured away from the front door had not been passed onto Tobias or Pennel. Abruptly though, a siren began to blare from inside the base. Tobias had been leaning on the side of the car, though as he heard it he pushed off, "Shit!" he swore, "Everybody still here, we need to head for the main building, now!"

The base was remarkably small, and once you made it through the main gate, there was a drive leading gently uphill to the four storey building that seemed to be the only edifice in the base. There were plenty of trees, but just the one building. It was grey, with concrete walls, a flat roof and rows of unadorned recessed windows. It was an unpleasant looking building, stark and brutalist. A steel double door seemed to be the only way in. It was closed though it seemed unlikely it would keep the group out, even if it were locked. The pair of troopers who had been guarding were still in the woods though, no doubt, they would be back soon. Strangely, the siren didn't seem to have brought the attention of anyone else on the base...

"Williamson, you heard anything from Team A?" Tobias asked, "If they're not dead, tell them to get up here, now. We can't be waiting around or we're all dead."

Hew paused before adding, "Clark, do you want to get that door?"

It was locked, as it so happened.

Maurice

"Williamson, you heard anything from Team A?" Tobias asked, "If they're not dead, tell them to get up here, now. We can't be waiting around or we're all dead."

"We're going in to the base, " Maurice spoke surprisingly calmly to the away team given the circumstance. "And you all need to get back to us, now, or you may not make it before the guards return." Looking at the door, he was curious to see just how badly Allison, or anyone else for that matter, could tear up a steel door.

Though unlike Tobias's acknowledgement that there was a risk that Team A could be dead, Maurice knew that that they weren't by virtue of the fact that none of the connections had been broken. The fact that he hadn't heard any pained grunts and screams from any of the members of Team A also meant that they were also not wounded badly enough to be unable to move. "They're fine too, at least currently," he added as he glanced over to Tefford in the corner of his eyes.

As soon as Kristen heard the men, her heart sank. They were supposed to alert everybody else through Maurice! Kristen was hoping to lead the pair of soldiers through the forest some more, and then respond... but that idea was shot. And then, the still calm voice of Maurice in her head told her the rest of the bad news.

Regroup. Get back. Don't worry about the soldiers they were supposed to lead on a wild goose chase, but that thought didn't leave her feeling safe. Still. She thought-communicated back to Maurice and said, "Gotcha. Sorry about blowing the alarm." And she headed back. On the way, she saw Jack and ran by, hoping he would follow.

---

Through the gate
Rashaad and Capt. John Pennel

"So much for catching them napping," Rashaad said as Tobias-man gave the new order to storm the gates. And what did Tobias care if Atalia wasn't back yet with the others? But Rashaad felt sick to his stomach as he motored his chair through the gates and up the hill path. He was glad he was in his heavy motorized chair, though, just as he was that his other one had been folded up and was in the harness behind him.

Looking up at the base, the older Pennel got a strange expression on his face that his son noticed. "What is it, dad?"

The captain just shook his head, and said, "Don't worry about it."

Rashaad's eyes narrowed, and asked his father, "What, don't you recognize your office building?"

But the captain remained silent, even as his own eyes turned taut, and his mouth grimaced. Finally, he said, "Rashaad, stay close to me. I want you right by my side."

Rashaad's eyes squeezed into even tinier slits as he thought angrily to himself, "Yeah, just like you wanted Mom and the twins right by your side, too."

[Khasinkonia]

Sally Lagadec

Sally shrugged and responded to Ascot quite plainly.

“Oh you know, it was going rather well until this whole deal started. I have good grades but I don’t know if it’s gonna matter real soon at the rate stuff’s going.”

Sally dug her feet into the ground as the time came to approach the building. She was in a ready stance and was prepared to fight something, though she wasn’t quite sure what. The tension hung heavy in the air for the young freshman, and in the ground, she got a sensation that something just wasn’t quite right, but said nothing, for she didn’t know exactly where she was getting the idea.

---

Annie O’Cassidy
Return Trip

After the failure of her punch, Annie fell back into the shadows to cover her trail. Soon after, she got Maurice’s call and whispered, “Tell Moira I’m on my way back.”

She wasn’t sure if the whisper was audible to him, but as she sprinted in the darkness back, she kept checking behind herself to ensure that she wasn’t being followed. Though the ability to see a shadow within another shadow didn’t seem plausible, there was a part of her that was sure that as soon as she let herself feel safe, she’d be left vulnerable and could risk the entire rest of the team. With her cousins there, that was a risk she wasn’t ready to even consider.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Tobias Scott

Allison Clark
...
" Got it!" Allison called out as she rushed ahead, using her strength to gain some speed.

As soon as she was in front of the door, Allison planted her feet. She twisted her hip to generate all the momentum she needed for her punch. Using every bit of her power, her fist slammed through locking mechanism of the double doors and out the other side. She then shoved her other hand into the opening she created and forced the door open. As soon as it was open, Allison stepped away from the doorway and took cover.

" Door's open." Allison exclaimed, hugging the exterior wall of the building.

"Good work," Tobias nodded to Allison, then stepped through the door. Nothing happened and he motioned the others to follow.

Inside was dark and cavernous. While the outside of the building has seemed to show several floors, as the students' eyes adjusted to the dark it became clear that that was just a facade. There was nothing inside the building, just a concrete floor and a metal frame supporting the shell, a few lights on the outside lit the path from the door they had come through to a metal box-like structure in the centre with another door on it. There was a button on the side that gave the structure the distinct look of a lift, although the only way it could lead was straight down into the earth.

Even as they watched though, the door opened, revealing a brightly lit interior out of which stepped three familiar figures; it would probably take a moment for people to get their heads around the costumes, but these were students from Prefeton Hight School, ones who had been 'quarantined' for the Plague.

The first, and most recognisable was Alis Priddy. She had taken to wearing what looked like the kind of black tactical body armour you might expect from a SWAT officer, her hair tied back in a tight bun. Her cat, Cheshire was sitting on her head and on closer inspection it looked like he had sunk his claws right into her skull. Her eyes had a lifeless quality to them, though the cat seemed alert, it's tail twitching as it surveyed her former class mates, almost like it was the pilot on the zombie-like reanimated body of the girl.

The second was wearing a black shirt unbuttoned to midway down his chest, with the collar popped. He wasn't immediately recognisable, mostly because he was wearing wrap around shades. In the gloom. At night. It was Isaac Kiln. Last time his hair hadn't been spiked, with frosted tips.

The last was Steve Johnson. He was almost unrecognisable under the full hooded bodysuit he wore. It had been made up in conscious imitation of Captain America... if you replaced the American flag with a Confederate Battle Flag. Tobias blinked, then glared. Clearly the symbol had instantly got under the man's skin (not that he had the longest fuse to begin with). "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he growled, then lifted his rifle and, without giving any warning, took aim at Steve and fired, though not before Alis had raised her hand as if reaching out to grab something. The rifle barrel exploded as Tobias pulled the trigger, "Mother fucker!" he yelled, throwing the weapon away.

"So you want to play it like that?" Isaac sneered, "Well fine, but you kids should know that the guys from the base are only trying to help you. Look at me," he motioned at himself, "I'm my best self. You could be too. Don't listen to that loser," he motioned at Scott, "What would he know about anything?"

"I'm going to rip you out of that kid's head and snap you in half," Scott growled, taking a step towards the trio.

"Really, you're following this idiot?" Isaac asked again, his tone filled with scorn and mockery.

---

Atalia Bayer

It took Atalia a few moments until the guards weren't looking in her direction and she could safely creep out of her hiding spot. She took off at a sprint as soon as she could, racing back in the direction of the building. She wasn't sure about this, not at all. This might just be a boring building and they might all be about to get into a lot of trouble. There might be no grand conspiracy or, even if there was, there was no guarantee it was being housed here... but it was too late to do anything about that now. In a few minutes she'd know whether they had gambled correctly.

[Europa Undivided]

The Sapohznik Brothers

"Oh my God." Nikolai shook his head at the sight of the three that had been quarantined here before. Isaac, Alis, and Steve. They were wearing costumes of their own choosing; the most repulsive of which was the Confederate battle flag that adorned Steve's body suit. What he couldn't place, however, is why Isaac, a black kid, standing alongside someone who displayed such an offensive symbol with such utter blatancy. Most unsettling of all was the fact that the rapping cat, Cheshire, had sunk its claws into Alis' skull, as if he was piloting her reanimated corpse. It reminded him a both of theat scene of Ratatouille where the rat piloted that guy's movement by pulling on his hair... only that this was far more creepy.

Nikolai motioned for his brother to stay back, in order to keep both himself and Moira Lee safe. "Nikita, get back."

"Really, you're following this idiot?" Isaac asked again, his tone filled with scorn and mockery.

At this, the temperature in the room began to drop as Nikolai's emotions began to run high between worrying about the growing hole in the space wall, and this shocking revelation. "Isaac." He said, icy mist collecting all over his fingers. "Last time I saw you, I had carried you off from the attack of purple furbys. Now..."

A pause. "You people don't look like you're at your best. Alis looks dead, Steve is a flipping symbol of oppression, and... this isn't you." The person nearest to him could probably notice a subtle change in pitch and tone, and a very close inspection of his hair would reveal a itty little tinge of white near his scalp. "Move aside..."

He then whisperrd at Maurice and Tefford. "Any plans? I think we need to get the cat off her head, first..."

[Dragos Bee]

Ascot Rider and Eren Fritz

When Ascot received Sally's reply, he replied with a smile and nod before following the others into the base, readying himself for whatever waited. Inside the shell which formed the building was something which seemed to be an elevator - That function was confirmed when three of their former friends arrived, clearly brainwashed by whatever enemy existed beneath. On seeing them, and remembering what they used to be, the boy felt black rage course through his veins, provoked by what had been done to them, what he had tried to prevent in a tactless and ineffective way.

I could have done something, he thought as he took out the strange blaster-like object he held in his hands. Just a bit of discretion, just a bit of private talking, just some understanding of why people would want to ignore what's happening around them and I could have prevented all this!

A hand on his shoulder - It was Eren. The older youth's next words were, "Enough angsting. If you're serious about making up for your actions, act." He then turned to Maurice and said, "You're the cool head here, unlike us. So we want your opinion - Should we attack to support Tobias, and if so, what's the battle plan? Charging in blindly will result in needless casualties, we're smart enough to know that. Either way, we'll have our blasters out."

As the fighting between Tefford and the trio started, Eren took out the blaster-like device taken from Pennel's van and pointed it at Isaac, resisting every urge to fire his weapon at someone who was now an enemy. He gestured to Ascot with his free hand to hold his fire as well, just in case the young boy, being fourteen, was more trigger-happy than he was.

Then he noticed that Ascot had positioned himself protectively before Harper and Jack, taking slow, deep breaths as he stood between them and Steve/The Confederate, already aiming his blaster but not firing it yet. It seemed Eren had nothing to worry about right now.

[Talchyon]

The "Base"
Capt. John Pennel and Rashaad

Rashaad was still annoyed with his dad, and had the thought of figuring out what was the best thing to do about it. He could throw an argument right there about how he suspected that Mom and the twins were dead. Killed by his father's murderous hand. But he knew it wouldn't help. The way his father had acted before when he raised the topic hadn't been what he expected, now that he thought of it. The wheelchair-bound teen had expected some kind of angry protest of innocence, or some kind of threat of discipline at least for even daring to raise the issue. But his father had, if anything, seemed both sad, firm, and determined that he had acted right.

So what should he say? Rashaad tried to come up with ideas, but something just seemed off about the whole thing. His dad had been acting strangely. But everything in this town was strange since his family had moved here. So while he motored his chair up the hill and into the building, Rashaad struggled to come up with the best way to show resistance to his dad, while not having to get into a deathmatch with him at the same time. So far, he wasn't having any success.

Getting into the building didn't seem as much of a surprise to the older Pennel. It was as if he had expected to see the empty building surrounding the elevator. Rashaad, on the other hand, was temporarily distracted from his thoughts of bitter anger when he saw the inside of the base. "What the hell?" he asked. "What kind of military base is this? It looks like a large garage, only someone forgot to put in a garage door..."

And then the three missing students came up the elevator. Rashaad recognized them at once. The girl with the talking cat was there, and the cowboy who had bought the pizza at the party way back. Then there was Isaac, who had been injured with him at the Harvest Ball. But something was even more off about them then it was with his dad.

His dad muttered as they exited the elevator, "Friends of yours?" But Capt. Pennel knew this couldn't be good. Not where that elevator went.

John Pennel's senses were on the highest level of alert he had. He was about to raise his guns and start shooting too, except he got to see the fate of the weapons Tobias Smith had on him. When the teen made that weapon explode, the older Pennel knew it was practically useless to raise his own. Not now, anyway.

Instead, he shouted to the confused teens in the group who were obviously wanting to try the soft approach of diplomacy. Yelling out, his voice filled the room. "These aren't your friends. Whatever they did to them, your friends are gone." And then, seeing no one moving at his words, he tried a more direct approach. "Attack!" And like Tobias, he took some steps forward toward the group.

Rashaad, seeing his dad go forward against the three (whose powers he couldn't remember exactly at this time), muttered curses under his breath. Then, he charged forward too, more so to make sure his dad didn't get blasted off the face of the earth. Summoning his tentacles, Rashaad motored to the side, and sent them hurtling towards the cat on Alis' head. These tentacles were the acidic burning ones that would scorch muscles and sever limbs. And he sent four tentacles their way as he motored forward, taking a swipe at the cat's legs connecting it to Alis' head.

"Oh, hell," is all he said.

---

Kristen Lane

Being the fastest, Kristen was easily the first back from the outdoor group. She saw the mangled ironwork of the doorway, and suspected it must have been Allison. But instead of feeling jealous of her strength like she might have once, Kristen just registered the fact as she ran up to the base.

Inside, the strange emptiness startled her. "What?" She whispered this to herself, as if her words might caused a tremor. The group was gathered near the doorway, and being short, it took her a bit to see what the only thing was in the place. A doorway? And apparently, there were three people she hadn't seen in quite some time. Three former students, all who had been missing due to quarantine. Alis, Steve the new kid, and Isaac. Kristen got a sick feeling inside as she saw them and how they were dressed.

Kristen wanted to say that the other three should be coming, and that there were still those guards outside who were also closing in. But Mr. Tefford ("Rather, Tobias," she thought) was suddenly missing his weapon that had been vaporized. And while the Russian twins were trying to ask their fellow classmates to step aside, the dad of the wheelchair kid that Atalia was dating lost it, and called out for them to attack! Attack three of her classmates?!

Momentarily stunned, Kristen watched as Rashaad motored his chair forward and began to send blackish clear tentacle looking things from his head toward the cat. The sickening sensation in her stomach got worse. But with it was a curious emotion she would never have expected months ago. That emotion was courage.

First things first, though. Thinking to Maurice, she made sure to use that mental link she still had to let him know about the others who were still out there and returning, as well as at least two guards. And then she took off running towards the far side of the building. "Might as well spread out their attack which is certainly coming," she thought.

[Bingellia]

Maurice Williamson

---

As the elevator opened, Maurice felt a dread rising in his chest. With the weird and seemingly insane costumes and bearings of his former classmates, he thought back to Newton's warnings. "So that's what they were doing to them,", he thought to himself. "And that could have been us."

Then Tefford raised his weapon to fight them. It was surprising when it exploded, as though it fired out of battery, but by some miracle no one in the group seemed to have been shredded. What was less surprising was Tefford charging in afterwards. Their former principle had been a man of action since being re-awakened, and Maurice wagered he stood a decent chance given that his powers were better developed.

However, Maurice was acutely aware the clock was not on the group's side. Soldiers would be returning to the base behind them, the atmosphere was being drained in a vacuum, and God only knows what was ahead of them.

"So we want your opinion - Should we attack to support Tobias, and if so, what's the battle plan? Charging in blindly will result in needless casualties, we're smart enough to know that. Either way, we'll have our blasters out."

"There's not exactly room any fancy maneuvers, and we don't have time to dick around with if we did," Maurice answered. "They need to be taken down quickly so we can keep moving."

"Don't let them get in your heads, people! We can't afford to hold back," he shouted. "Get in there!"

Despite the call to action, he knew he had to hang back. He wasn't much of a fighter even without powers, and had Gilligan to worry about as well. It was a natural choice to hang back an observe, even if it made him look like a coward and a hypocrite.

[Europa Undivided]

A few more precious moments passed. The trio of teenagers in front of them were obviously quite different from the last time either of the Sapohznik brothers had met. The last encounter with Steve was taking big chomps out of the pizza that the Southerner had brought to Atalia's beach party a month or so back. He seemed to be quite friendly back then, even though almost everyone made it pretty clear that they didn't wan anything to do with him. Nikolai could only imagine what kind of horrendous things were done to him and the other two in order to gain their loyalty to the twisted cause of whoever was running this base. Or, cavernous garage with no door. Either way, he doesn't want to hurt them. Even if someone kept whispering for him to throw an icy axe at Isaac's face.

Instead, he shouted to the confused teens in the group who were obviously wanting to try the soft approach of diplomacy. Yelling out, his voice filled the room. "These aren't your friends. Whatever they did to them, your friends are gone." And then, seeing no one moving at his words, he tried a more direct approach. "Attack!" And like Tobias, he took some steps forward toward the group.

"You should be the ones coming with us, Isaac." Nikita said, attempting to negotiate a way out of this mess without dropping any bodies... ignoring the fact that Alis was clearly beyond redemption, as she was... dead, or whatever. However, there would be no more negotiation, as Pennel Sr. forced the issue and ordered an attack. Nikita would at first just be flustered at the sudden command, but it didn't take him long to get further back, eventually getting as far as Maurice was while keeping one hand on Moira Lee. He is going to put the child's safety before his own.

While Rashaad used his tentacles to attack Alis, Nikolai turned his attention to Isaac. He knew the other kid well enough to know that he was not to be trifled with; he had displayed a rather eloquent skill with the Swiss knife back in the Harvest Ball, and was still going despite being wounded and bleeding in multiple points. One of the principles of battle was to deal with the weaker link of the chain first, and Steve was the weaker link. Alis just stopped a gun from firing, and Isaac was... well, a natural fighter. end him

The mists around his hands coalesced, turning into a pair of daggers that he then threw full force towards Captain Confederate. Pennel Sr. was right. These were no longer their friends, if they were ever friends to begin with. They stood in the way of salvation, and needed to be dealt with accordingly.

Wait, what?

[Demencia]

Rosalind Llywelyn

This was weird. Like bad C-movie weird. But Rosie was into it, even if it might have been dangerous. Heck, it being dangerous probably only made her more into it. She didn't know who any of the three new weirdos were, but based on context clues and one of them literally wearing the stars and bars, it was kind of easy to pick up. "See, I always knew cats were of the Devil. Never trusted them!" she said looking at the weird headcrab situation going on with Alis. "People thought i was crazy, but who's right now!?"

The whole superhero charge thing was a bit much, but Rosie was still having fun. Spur of the moment decision, she moved for the neoconfed. Her goal was to grab him around the back of his thighs and lift him up, then spin around and plant him back-first firmly onto the ground in a Spinebuster that would make Arn Anderson proud. Was it the best idea? Of course not, but it's not like anyone ever expected a rational thought from Rosie.

[Nachfolgia]

Allison Clark



This isn't real. It can't be real.

Allison stood there in shock as three of her former classmates stood between them and the elevator. Alis, Isaac, and Steve; all having been missing for months under the guise of quarantine. Now it seems that the government had a different plan for them. Allison couldn't believe what was happening, but it was apparent that they were now weapons wearing combat armor,  instead of human beings. They all had a different look in their eyes, full of malice and killer intent. All except Alis of course, who's eyes were cold and lifeless.

Poor Alis. The girl did not deserve what happened to her. She was kind and a quiet loner, never bothered no body. To see her now lifeless and controlled by that damn cat was too much for anyone to bear. Even the other two, Isaac and Steve, were not their normal selves. The hick was like an offensive Captain America, wearing a confederate battle flag in his shield.

While Alis was sad and Steve was just Steve, Isaac's appearance at his point in time made Allison angry. The last thing she remembered of him was helping Nikolai drag him to safety after he was mauled at the Harvest Ball. Having been saved and then standing against them with an arrogant smirk on his face, rubbed Allison the wrong way. At first she was skeptical about hurting them, that they had to still be inside the enemy somehow. Alis was lost, but maybe the other two could come back.

Unfortunately, there was no room for being soft, no holding back. Pennel yelled out that they were no longer their friends and, like Tefford, went on the attack. This prompted some of the others to attack as well. Now it was Allison's turn to run into the action. She quickly took off her jacket, exposing her muscular arms. Her muscles tensed as she clenched her fists, each muscle bulging and each vein popping out to the surface.

" Nikolai..." Allison said, glaring angrily at the enemy. "... don't get took close. I wouldn't want to hurt you." Allison continued as she cracked her knuckles loud enough for him to hear it.

Without saying another word, Allison rushed to Isaac, the force of her pushing off the floor cracked the concrete. She closed the distance on her enemies, getting in between Alis and Isaac. She quickly did a front kick to Alis to send her flying, breaking her from her comrades. She then quickly spun around to deliver a spinning back fist to Isaac. She then followed up with a roundhouse kick that was carried by her momentum. Every strike on Isaac was going full force. She knew he could fight and wasn't going to give him an opening.

[Dragos Bee]

Ascot Rider and Eren Fritz

Ascot didn't want to kill, but he shot at the enemy anyway. Eren never wanted to kill, but knew that there was no other choice. And so they fired at Steve in short bursts with their blasters, trying to focus fire on him while the others took care of Isaac and Alis. They had been given an answer, and the answer was that to end this nightmare, they had to see this through to the end... Even if it meant they had to kill. And so they would, for there was no other course left.

[Theyra]

Connor Vale

"This... this is really happening, what... did they do to them. Connor thought as he stood there, staring at his former classmates. Feeling a sense of dread of seeing what is left of them. Out of the three, it was Alis that made him dread the most. Seeing that frickin rapping cat seemly controlling her and her dead eyes. Who could be this cruel to do something like this?

A small fire soaked in Connor, someone is going to pay for this. Someone or whoever is involved with this is going to face justice. His fists clenched but then open. But, that anger is for another time. Connor knew that before they find sanctuary. He has to focus on the now, and the now is dealing with these three remnants.

Connor does not want to kill them. But judging them, they may not hold the same sentiment. A fight to the death, it seems, and a fight that they must win if they can get out of where ever this is. He did not like this at all, but this something he must do. So Connor summoned his blue aura energy, and it formed around his hands. Taking a deep breath as the others sprang into action. Connor chose to focus on Alis, launching a volley of aura bolts at her. Aiming at the cat that was on her head.

[Lessoni]

Jack Brekker

A lot of "what the fuck" kinda moments had presented themselves to Jack, his own survival one of them, but then the trio of variously ridiculous looking former friends showed up, and he had very little time to process his luck. Now the real fight had begun, it seemed, and it was one he'd gladly sit out, quite literally. The rest of his group seemed willing, almost eager, to get into a fight, but him? He was content letting the rest risk their necks. It was almost amusing, in a way, watching them start to do their damndest to pound each other into the proverbial dirt.

He turned ghost, leaving his head still tangible for that pesky thing breathing, and walked off, a good bit from the action, sitting down, legs crossed, back against a wall. He'd turn fully intangible if the action came his way, but he doubted it would. Their newly found enemies had bigger worries than the guy who wasn't trying to kill them.

[Dyelli Beybi]

Allison Clark

This isn't real. It can't be real.
...

" Nikolai..." Allison said, glaring angrily at the enemy. "... don't get took close. I wouldn't want to hurt you." Allison continued as she cracked her knuckles loud enough for him to hear it.

Without saying another word, Allison rushed to Isaac, the force of her pushing off the floor cracked the concrete. She closed the distance on her enemies, getting in between Alis and Isaac. She quickly did a front kick to Alis to send her flying, breaking her from her comrades. She then quickly spun around to deliver a spinning back fist to Isaac. She then followed up with a roundhouse kick that was carried by her momentum. Every strike on Isaac was going full force. She knew he could fight and wasn't going to give him an opening.

Ascot Rider and Eren Fritz

Ascot didn't want to kill, but he shot at the enemy anyway. Eren never wanted to kill, but knew that there was no other choice. And so they fired at Steve in short bursts with their blasters, trying to focus fire on him while the others took care of Isaac and Alis. They had been given an answer, and the answer was that to end this nightmare, they had to see this through to the end... Even if it meant they had to kill. And so they would, for there was no other course left.

Alis went flying, which was the only thing that saved the creature from Rashaad's tentacle and Connor's aura bolts. The cat hissed, though it never moved from it's position clutching the girl's skull. She sat up immediately, seemingly unphased by having been thrown across the room. Her hand shot out in the direction of Ascot and Eren...

... Using guns wasn't the best idea as Scott had discovered. Blaster magazines, however, contained much more volatile components that what was typically found in a gunpowder rifle, and when Alis crushed the contents together the weapons exploded quite dramatically, showering the boys and anyone nearby with reactive chemicals amidst a storm of flying shrapnel. While there would be injuries, at least the boys weren't going to shoot any of their friends in the back by accident.

Meanwhile, Allison's hits were not landing on Isaac with any particular force. He moved quickly, quick enough to avoid most of the strikes, though when they did land, it was with no more force than she would have mustered before she had begun to develop powers. Unexpectedly, he let one blow land, grabbing her leg in both his hands. His eyes locked with hers as Allison began to feel particularly sick, "What's the matter? Not feeling so great?" he snickered. He was both sapping her powers and draining her life force in the process, every moment making the obnoxious teen's own strength and dexterity swell beyond where it had been. His powers growing as Allison's life drained away, "I gave you the choice to join us. Too bad you made the wrong choice."

Things were not going especially well overall, though the group that had decided to go after Steve in his inflammatory costume had sent him into full retreat across the floor. He had avoided the flying ice daggers that Nikolai had flung in his direction, swaying to one side with unnatural dexterity, though Rosie seemed to have taken him by surprise and he had failed to avoid her grabbing him and dumping him on the ground... though he rolled away immediately; like Alis, it was almost as if the boy felt no pain and was poised to slam the round shield he was carrying into her face, when Tobias's fist slammed down in the centre of the shield, pushing the boy back with the force of the blow, he performed a backwards roll, coming back to his feet, retreating back step by step. The shield was carrying a pretty major dent from Tobias's fist; while it might have looked like a copy of Captain America's iconic weapon, it was definitely not made of proto-adamantium or any similar magical compound.

[Dragos Bee]

Ascot Rider and Eren Fritz

Their blasters exploded in their hands, apparently, Ascot's power to show aggressors their worst fears didn't work on Alis, nor was Alis distracted by the others to the point where the two folks had a free hand. So now Ascot and Eren were in pain, burning, wounded, and Eren himself was gushing out more blood than a normal person can produce safely - His macabre Metahuman power showing itself firsthand. Nevertheless, both weren't so injured as to be completely incapacitated, but they definitely needed medical attention.

[Nea Videssos]

Rei Fujiwara

While most of the others went on the offensive against Alis, Isaac and Steve, Rei was one of the ones that decided to watch before making any moves. He didn't have that much of a relationship with those charging ahead, so them potentially acting as guinea pigs to display the capabilities of their three adversaries wasn't something he had any particular issues with. Plus, they had powers of their own. If they got their arses handed to them by their fellow teens without even a fight, then it could only be said that they were probably a lost cause. As it was, staying back to see what powers the three had was probably the best. It gave him a chance to figure out what their enemies could do and to avail himself of any good opportunities to attack, when they presented themselves.

Rei spent some of his time watching deciding who to attack. He was a bit reluctant to go after the cat-controlled Alis, since that would mean harming a cat. As it happened, Rei had trouble with the idea of hurting cute fluffy animals, even if this one was an evil abomination. Given by the manner in which Alis resembled a zombie being piloted by Cheshire, he got the feeling that if he attacked Alis, rather than the cat, it wouldn't do much good. His gaze turned to the other two. Captain Slavery over there seemed to be struggling the most as the others ganged up on him. Isaac, meanwhile, was in the middle of close combat with Allison. If he teleported over to them he'd probably get caught up in the crossfire. Announcing what he was going to do before hand wouldn't be ignored by these opponents, either.

Sighing faintly as he remained plagued by indecision, Rei put his right hand in his hoodie's pocket, and gripped the utility knife he'd stashed away in said pocket. He focused his attention once again towards Alis and the head-cat piloting her seemingly lifeless body. "It's not a cat... just think of it as some sort of demon that looks like a cat..." he began muttering under his breath. Pulling out the utility knife, he extended the blade and prepared to make use of it.

Rei began walking towards Alis, a yellow-green flash from his eyes briefly lighting up the room before he vanished, and promptly reappeared behind the cat-enslaved girl. He moved to attack the feline entity on the girl's head, attempting to slash the furry fiend with the knife. As the androgynous Japanese crossdresser did so, he also kicked at Alis' right leg, aiming for the back of her knee. If this destabilised her balance, it would also bring the cat down to a level easier to reach with the knife.

[Europa Undivided]

The Brothers Sapohznik

He had avoided the flying ice daggers that Nikolai had flung in his direction... The shield was carrying a pretty major dent from Tobias's fist; while it might have looked like a copy of Captain America's iconic weapon, it was definitely not made of proto-adamantium or any similar magical compound.

Nikolai shook his head as Steve... no, that thing had recieved quite a lot of attention from himself, Rosie, and Teff. The shield was dented from Tefford's superstrength punch, meaning that it was more or less an ordinary shield. Ice daggers, six in total once again formed from the icy mist on his hands, which he would then throw at Captain Confederate with great force. "You," he said in between throws. "...are the worst cosplayer that has ever existed." Once he ran out of daggers, a throwing axe was formed in their place, which he then threw straight at the thing masquerading as Steve. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing now; there was no telling if he was still in control, or if the power is taking over his actions. That did not matter, though, as Nikolai saw a horrendous sight in his peripheral view.

His powers growing as Allison's life drained away, "I gave you the choice to join us. Too bad you made the wrong choice."

This gets better. The guy that he and Allison had helped get away from the purple furbys back in the Harvest Ball was now draining Allison's life away. He was, without a shadow of doubt, the greatest ingrate that had ever existed in the face of the earth... if this was Earth, which it probably wasn't. Nikolai's cryokinesis hit its peak as ice began forming in flakes around him; it was literally snowing. A chain formed on his hands, which he then flung towards Isaac in a bid to wrap his arms in it. He would have to either let Allison go to prevent this from happening, or keep his grip and risk being afflicted with frostbite from the ice chain, which the guard back in the docks had endured earlier. Had those ice cuffs not been broken by Allison... who knows what could have happened. That guy would have probably needed an amputation after that.

Nevertheless, both weren't so injured as to be completely incapacitated, but they definitely needed medical attention.

Nikita had been in the back with Moira when the explosion happened, and as a result wasn't affected by the blast. However, he rushed forward to get to the wounded boys, shaking his head. "What were you thinking, using guns on someone that made a gun explode..." They were afflicted with shrapnel wounds... and those were way out of his league. However, he took a quick dip into the internet, using his technopathy in his phone to search for what to do with a shrapnel wound. Loose sterile dressing. Not something he had right now. Sighing profusely, he would first take Ascot, pulling him away from the front. Eren was alarming to look at, though, as the blood looked way too plentiful...

[Khasinkonia]

Sally Lagadec
Awel an Ankoù ra he reuz

Although Sally hadn’t been right next to Alex and Eren, rather several feet to the side and back, she was still well within the blast radius of the weapons. She clasped her eyes close quickly at the sound of the explosion and jerked down, despite the fact that Eren and Ascot caught the brunt of the shrapnel, but the chemical blast left her with a burning feeling that forced her eyes shut by instinct. Her arms and face felt hot, like they had minor burns, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as the sensation in her eyes. As her eyes quivered and welled up with tears, she hissed as she had to take in the world through her hearing and seismic sense alone. From the pressure of Allison’s foot on the ground, she could tell that her fellow wrestler was doing poorly on the strength side, and that the arrogant bastard holding her seemed to have a stronger stance than before.

Sally groaned and then stomped one foot forward. She forced the concrete floor to pull up around Allison’s foot and tried to get it around Isaac’s feet quickly too, and then worked her way further up their calves to encase both in concrete. Then she pulled her arms apart to try and get the concrete to pull the two apart.

---

Annie O’Cassidy
The Battle is Still Going On

After moving as fast as she could, Annie was near out of breath by the time she returned to the door. Still in the shadows, she frantically looked around and soon spotted Maurice, Gilligan, and then Moira. With a sigh of relief to see that they were okay, she burst from the shadows and scooped up her cousin and kissed the young girl on the cheek. Moira started to scream but stopped halfway into it as she realised who it was. Annie hugged her cousin tightly, but didn’t say a single word until she looked to Nikita and Maurice.

“Thank you both,” she said quite simply, and then looked out at the battle at hand.

“Should I do something?” she asked Maurice.

[The Imarian Monarchy]

Shawn Farley

In a similar state to Sally, when the blaster exploded they were also showered by heat not that much different to being close to a roaring bonfire. Closing his eyes to protect them from the searing heat, Shawn held in place hoping that once the heat was gone that they would be unharmed., and be able to keep Sally safe, who has far better powers for the situation.

[Bingellia]

Maurice

---

Searing heat washed over Maurice's arm as the pair of blasters exploded near to him. The stench of burning hair soon filled his nosterals as he caught the pair of wounded get riddled with shrapnel from the corner of his eye. There was a part of him that was grateful that he had been safe, but he wasn't unsympathetic to the pair's haste to do something.

The fight itself was even, at best, and it seemed unclear what Steve and Alis could do from a glance. Hopefully Sally would buy Allison and the others an opportunity to strike against Issac. Maurice wasn't surprised that whatever happened to Issac worsened his attitude, the rich boy was always an asshole to him and would get little sympathy from Maurice if anyone managed to break his teeth in.

“Thank you both,” she said quite simply, and then looked out at the battle at hand.

Maurice remained uncharacteristically quiet as he continued to watch his empowered peers fight, though the fact that Annie had returned meant that the others were hopefully on their way and would, even more hopefully, shift the calculus in the group's favor.

“Should I do something?” she asked Maurice.

"You can, actually," Maurice answered. "Go back into the shadows, and try to trip Steve or Alis if she gets back up." The sight of Issac getting trapped in concrete got his hopes up. Hopefully he would drain his stolen power quickly, and he could be dealt with individually. "Keeping them off balanced will hopefully help."