Dr Archeville

Artificer Heroditus listened to the exchanges between their guest speaker and the others with some interest, though said nothing himself. So she is some sort of reformed supervillain -- a recurring theme? -- and that is her daughter, and the little one is her grandson. He glanced over at Leon, the first to speak out, ah, another unfamiliar face. Hrm, seems to be a bit rough. Perhaps students like that is the reason they bring in reformed criminals for these guest lectures. Then he saw his roommate, Benny, and smiled a bit. I do not think I have ever seen him this excited or energetic, outside of a sparring ring. This Anna seems to be of the same era he is, and so could be a touchstone of sorts. That is nice. He was about to ask a follow-up to Danica's question (did you ever go back to Atlantis, before The Sinking?), but al-Saraf's words shifted his focus. He approached the Professor (narrowly avoiding Leon), raising a hand as he went, "I am a sophomore. What has happened?"

Horrorshow "No, no, we shouldn't be closed up," Davyd replied to Micah, "not unless someone's trying to play some prank." He tried to keep his voice calm and even, knowing how quickly panic could spread. "Eira was here a moment ago, where is she? We should try to find her, she might be able to help tra- NGH!" He suddenly doubled over and his flesh rippled through a rainbow of colors as a stabbing pain lanced through his right temple. "Gah, what the..." He craned his head up and saw a few others had experienced a similar sensation, "what was that? I didn't think the Doom Room could do psychic stuff... can it?" He honestly wasn't sure, the little he knew of the room had to do with its physical capabilities. He looked back to Micah, "could there be someone here who... hold on." He suddenly stretched his neck up a few feet, trying to get a better look at the crowd, and in particular anyone who looked to be acting suspicious.

Horrorshow's Will save 1d20+7: 15 [1d20=8]

Artificer 3 posts = 1pp Again (0) Ancient Enemies (0) Hydra the Queen (0) Just Like Fire (3) New to Freedom (0) Punching Up (0) Reptile Brain (0) Spring Cleaning (0) Horrorshow 1+4 = 5 posts = 1pp Dead Men Tell No Tales (0) Fledglings in the Fold (1) Halloween Mall Trip (0) Hero Prom (4) Intergalactic Sightseeing (0) Phone a Friend (0) #ReleaseTheRavenCut (0) Strange Like Me (0) Protectron 1 post = 1pp, +1pp [Ref] = 2pp League of Their Own (1) --Titanium Characters-- Dead Head 0 posts, to ??? Bedlam Burning: Beauty and the Beasts (0) Everyone Is From Somewhere (0) Red Death Redemption (0) Doktor Archeville 0 posts, to ??? All Aboard the Nightmare Ship! (0) --Other-- Mod point, to Protectron

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Davyd's got some Ukrainian recipes from his babusya he could try. Heroditus could try making some Atlantean dishes with Surfacer ingredients.

Artificer Heroditus knew of the prom, but even if he wasn't a sophomore he would have had little interest in going. He wasn't much for dancing, he found some Surfacer music grating, and he'd heard that the annual event tended to draw lots of chaos and high emotions. So his plan for that late April evening was to just stay in his room and focus on studying for his final exams, taking a few breaks here and there to read some books he'd checked out from the library for a personal project. But then his roommate, Benny, had left, mentioning some alternate event. He initially waved his roommate off, glad for the privacy, but curiosity got the better of him, so he checked the campus announcements and saw what this event was about. Ah, I have heard of this Professor Gale al-Salaf. A most interesting person. Perhaps this could be a nice diversion. I just pray the guest speaker part goes better than the last one I had attended. And so, Claremont's latest Atlantean student arrived at the Not!Prom event, a few moments after his squadmate Danica. He wore gladiator-style sandals that laced up to his mid-calf, dark blue short breeches that ended just at the knee, and a dark gold short-sleeved tunic, cinched together by a light brown belt and bandolier which were covered in pockets of various sizes, and a waterskin. Propped on his forehead were his goggles (left lens purple, right lens green), and his long black (actually very very dark green) hair tied back in a loose ponytail. He smiled and waved at Danica and Benny, and bowed slightly to Professor al-Salaf. "Greetings, everyone. So, what is on the agenda for this evening?"

Horrorshow "I appreciate the offer," PhantomOfTheOpera!Davyd replied to Nosferatu!Zoe, "but how do I know this isn't some test from Headmistress Summers? Or a prank by you -- or someone else!" It would appear the young metamorph had become much more cautious since his Valentine's encounter with that vampire. "Besides, if I really wanted to peek in, I can always stretch over, or-" And then, having just happened to have turned his head and ears at the proper angle, he heard the shriek caused by Eira's punch-spider. He bolted up from his chair, "what was that?!" He looked to Zoe, "I've heard Claremont's proms often have wild things happening, including a few supervillain attacks! I'm gonna go in to check it out, you go get an... wait, no." He looked to the doors leading into the Doom Room, to Zoe, to the hallways leading out to the rest of Claremont, "maybe I should stay here and you go in and... or I could go get help and you stay here to... no, wait, I..." He then said a Ukrainian profanity which he'd often heard his Uncle Sasha use when frustrated, though he did not know what it meant. "Alright, I'm gonna go in, you stay here and keep an eye out. And if you can send an illusion out to get some help down here, that'd be good." He entered just as Micah said something about Eira & Pan being closed up in a bathroom, and the doors closed behind him and vanished.

Let's see what Davyd can Notice/Sense from just outside the entrance Notice check 1d20+10: 24 [1d20=14] Sense Motive check 1d20+10: 22 [1d20=12] Some decent rolls!

Artificer "Dinosaurs?!," he repeated, nearly spitting out his drink. He asked Danica to repeat the description of what she had been shown, then muttered something in the click-pop of Atlantean. "So old ones, long dead, though not as long as they should be. Which could mean they came through that portal, or one like it near here. And if it happened once, it could happen again." He looked around, trying to remember what he'd learned of dinosaurs, particularly how well they might do in the cold & arid environment they were in now. A small part of him, buried deep inside his staid Atlantean exterior, was quite giddy at the thought of seeing a real live dinosaur. "Veronica," he bowed slightly to her, "I respect your desire for us all to work together and find your people, and if that is your final decision, I will go along with it. But, again, I recommend that one or two of us -- specifically, Danica and I," he nodded towards the teen tortoise totem, "remain behind to secure the area, in case anything else comes out of there," he gestured towards the portal that only they could see, "or attacks the camp below."

Horrorshow "Right, so, it was almost exactly a year ago," he began, and as he spoke his casual blue shorts and blue & gold hoodie morphed into a pair of blue slacks and gold buttoned-down short-sleeved shirt, with an adhesive paper tag over his heart that read TOUR GUIDE (JUNIOR), "that I gained my abilities, and about a week after that I was transferred to Claremont. Which was wild, because I thought they'd let me finish out my last month and a half at my old high school, but no! They wanted me here right away," he snapped the fingers of his right hand, "make sure I started training with my new abilities as soon as possible. Which," he tilted his head slightly, "in hindsight, yeah, it was the right call, because I had a lot of problems with my abilities at first. But now, thanks to the teachers here, and some local heroes who've volunteered their time to help, I've got- hey, get back there, you!" A tentacle had slithered out from his back and was peeking over his shoulder, which he made an elaborate show of pushing back, only for it to pop up again over his other shoulder, or out of his sleeve, or out of the bottom of his pants leg. After about a minute he got everything tucked away, then smoothed his hair, gave a slight bow, and intoned a very solemn, "acting."

Horrorshow Davyd had similar difficulties staying focused on the lessons. I can turn into a fish, a shark, an octopus, a crab - what do I need air tanks and masks and snorkels and weight belts for? His focus drifted to the waters around them, the marine life just under the surface. And yet, a nagging thought kept pulling at him. But what if I lost control of my powers? I've only had them for about two months, I've still got a lot to learn. Or what if they fail altogether? I could drown before I reached the surface! No, no, I'd better focus on this. And so he did, or at least tried his best to, and helped reiterate various points to Pan, to make sure he himself was getting it right. When the time came, he opted for the bare minimal kit, for two reasons. First, to minimize the amount of equipment he might damage during any sudden shapeshifts, though he was reasonably certain he could shift around things, or incorporate them into any form he assumed. Secondly, by keeping the gear at a minimum, this forced him to consider it as a backup, and focus on the controlled use of his abilities. Which was why, by the time he'd joined Veronica and Pan underwater, he had shifted into something like the headliner from Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Horrorshow Keep an eye on the target, an eye on my partner, an eye on those around me, an eye on- ah, crud! As Davyd tried leading Talya through the moves she'd just shown him, she noticed the hair at the back of his head was not moving the way it should, not quite following the movements of his head. Then she saw two eye stalks pop out and peek around, one at Kam & Leroy, the other at Benny. To his credit, he only faltered once, and was able to keep up the dance at a decent pace. When she brought them to a stop, the eyestalks had already retracted, and his hand went up to rub the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry. I'm still working on that." He bit his lower lip, looked to Talya with big (more than human-ly big) watery eyes, "sometimes my body, it gets too adaptive."

Horrorshow "Alright, then. Keep you secrets," he called down to her, and when (if) she looked back up at him, she'd see he had morphed into Elijah Wood. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree, reverting back to his Davyd form, "okay, so, that went pretty well. She doesn't seem to be in too much trouble with Summers, and she doesn't seem to hold any grudge against me for upsetting her date night. Didn't ask what Summers had for me after all that," he muttered, "but, she's got enough on her mind, dealing with all her stuff and with Judy's stuff." He hopped to his feet, and took turns balancing on one foot, then the other. "Hope she's able to enjoy prom," he said, just before falling to the side. He plummeted a good 25 feet, but when he collided with the ground, it as with a wet SPLAT that turned his boneless form into a muddy pancake. Slowly he rose up, reforming limbs and a head and clothes, then set off for the dining hall.

28 hits Heroditus by 10, so... yeah. He'll do the same as Benny (Accurate Attack + Defensive Attack), though he doesn't have those feats so he'll be limited to +/-2. So that brings him to +4 Melee, Defense +10. And he can only touch Benny if he rolls a nat 20... which he does not do. By a lot.

Artificer Benny may as well have been sparring with a boxing dummy crossed with one of those flailing arm balloon guys he'd seen at some car dealerships. Heroditus was a quick study, sure, and it was clear to Benny that his roommate was trying to mirror him. But knowing how to move and actually being able to move in the required manner were two very different things. The young Atlantean choked up almost as much as he overextended, and his footwork was so sloppy it was painful to see. He kept at it, though -- he was determined, if nothing else -- but that determination only kept his body going for so long. Soon he had raised his hands in surrender and was fumbling for his waterskin. "I think... I think I lasted... lasted longer that time..."

Horrorshow As the Claremonters approached the entrance to the Doom Room, they were greeted by a figure seated at a small table near the doorway. Sometimes it was a smiling Buster Keaton, or Charlie Chaplin, or Harold Lloyd. Other times, it was Dr. Caligari, or Nosferatu, or the Phantom of the Opera. And sometimes it was Robin Hood, or Sherlock Holmes, or Zorro. The one commonality -- aside from the fact that all were characters from films released in the 1920s -- is that they were all in grayscale, as if those black & white images had sprung to life. Which, in a manner of speaking, they had, thanks to the metamorphic abilities of one Davyd Palahniuk. "Tickets, please."

Horrorshow Davyd tried to remember the Creation stories from babusya's synagogue, of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church uncle Sasha had taken him to, and the slavic pagan stories of his father's parents. And a few fantasy or sci fi movies, to fill any gaps. "In the beginning," he intoned, "there was darkness and chaos, and in the chaos was monsters. All was without constraint, without reason. A churning mass of inchoate possibility," the skin of his face rippled, "formless and timeless. Then God and His Angels came forth and brought light, and time, and bound the chaos into space, and matter. He formed the Earth, and the heavens, and did name them, and then commanded the Earth to make trees and plants. He filled this garden with animals, then made man, Adam, and woman, Eve, in His image, and gave to them the responsibility of naming and caring for all His other creations. God gave them dominion over all, but forbade them to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. One night a creature from the chaos, Chernobog, approached Adam & Eve in the form of a serpent," a creature his left arm now mimicked, "and tried to get them to break God's proscription by convincing them to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Eve refused, but Adam was swayed, and later he shard some of the fruit with Eve. They gained knowledge, including knowledge of Death. When God learned of this, He cast them out from His garden, and sent them to wander the Earth, to toil and suffer." "Um," he scratched his head with his (now human) left hand, "I think that's how it went."

Horrorshow "Fire, and lots of it," he nodded, knowing full well she had access to incendiaries. "Or electricity. Though I pray it never comes to that!," he quickly added. Daphne had told him of the Grue Meta-Mind, and the next several nights he'd laid awake wondering if it might reach out to him, control him, make him an extension of itself. She hadn't seemed overly concerned about that, but the fear had stuck with him. After the talk of Judy, "I'm glad she's got that. I'm not as observant as babusya might like, but," he trailed off, shrugged, "yeah." If it comforts her, I'm glad she's got it. And glad she's got you." "'Development'?," he repeated, growing a bit more interested. "What's she develop? Does she work with law enforcement? Or was I just, like, completely off about everything that night?"

Horrorshow Davyd had two cups of coffee (one black, one with cream & sugar) and an assortment of fruit, yawning and stretching the whole time. "'s'funny," he said, to no one in particular, indeed staring off with unfocused eyes, "all the things my body can do, all the ways it can adapt -- to cold, to heat, to breathing water, or volcano fumes, to being able to eat or drink pretty much anything -- but I still need a solid eight hours of sleep every night. Well," he chuckled, "not solid," he raised one hand up, which had shifted to his natural muddy jell-o consistency, then back again to Ukrainian flesh and bone, "but you know what I mean, yeah? But how come that is? There are plenty of animals that need hardly any sleep, or never sleep. Like fish, and dolphins -- many of them have, like, this thing where just a part of their brain sleeps, but the other part's awake, so they can keep swimming and keep an eye out for predators. I should be able to do that, yeah? Or maybe I can't yet, since teens need more sleep or something."

Artificer "Wary indeed," Heroditus nodded, "these waters are tricky to navigate even for Atlanteans. It is a shame so many Surfacers have been lost here," he muttered, not really sure about the numbers but having heard numerous stories, from both those below and above the waters. "Ah, Princess," he spoke up, though kept his tone reverent, "do you know what condition your grandfather left this 'Aquarium' in? When he left it for good, did he have time to carefully shut down and preserve everything, or was his final departure a more rushed affair? Will there be any defenses within which we must contend with, or areas blocked off by debris? Or perhaps some great guardian beasts lurking nearby?" Thoughts of an underwater base had been rattling around in the back of his mind for months now, and he was growing more excited -- in his own measured Atlantean way -- as they continued onward.

Artificer Heroditus passed on the information he had discovered, "and so it is possible that this fissure could close at any moment. And when it reopens, it may not lead to the same location! So now the question is, do all of us go in to look for the missing scientists, or do only some go, and the rest remain behind?" He looked to Astrid and Ben, sure that they would want to go through, then to Veronica, "Astrid and Micah are the fastest, so it might be best to send them both in. And since Ben has their scent," he nodded towards the squiddly squadmate, "he would need to go through, to lead. And someone who can see these fissures, so either you or myself should go to keep an eye out for any more anomalies. The other could remain here with Danica," he paused a moment, unsure if he would rather go through the portal to an unknown location, or stay behind with the one squadmate who seemed most uneasy with him, "to secure the area, make sure no one else stumbles in -- and no thing comes out."

Artificer Heroditus forced a smile at Kameron's explanation of the workings of a combustion engine, irritated at both his own lack of knowledge on the subject and at the seeming ease with which Kam rattled it off. And that is not even his field of study. Hold: is that what I sound like to others? Hrm. "Yes, I... had figured out that much, thank you," he replied uneasily, "but the specifics are what is eluding me. The composition of the fuel, how it mixes with the air, how the spark is generated, how the explosions are controlled. Though," his voice relaxed a bit, "I did find the conversion to rotational motion bit to be rather straightforward." He looked back to Muirne, and his smile grew a bit warmer, more relaxed. "We could meet at the gardens, once your tour is over. How much longer should that be," he looked back and forth between her and Kameron, "another hour? Two?" "Oh, I do apologize, again," he replied to Dee, bowing to her. "I am, ah, not very good at gauging Surfacer ages. Your skin is so dry, compared to Atlanteans..." he trailed off, looking around awkwardly until he settled back on his pile of research.

Horrorshow He caught the stake easily enough, and another chuckle escaped his lips. "For a moment, I thought you were carving a switch to beat me with." He looked it over, "thanks," and laid it on his thigh, which slowly swallowed it up like quicksand. "Hoping that won't happen again, but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, yeah?" "Sooo," he scratched his chin, "does Judy know about, well, any of this? I'm sure she'd be fine with the 'you liking girls' thing, but the whole 'sneak out to a bar' and 'dating an older woman, who's also a cop' thing," he shook his head, "they might be too much for her."

Horrorshow Davyd was two inches shorter and about 50 pounds lighter than Benjamin, so it was easy for him to be lead by the pugilist. And he had some experience with dancing, though not much, having worked on a few high school musicals. So, he focused on reading Benny's body language, the subtle physical and visual signals he gave off -- intentionally and unintentionally -- and on maintaining whatever moves he initiated. At least, that had been the plan. But then Benny started doing The Twist, and Davyd wasn't quite sure how to work with that. He muttered a brief thanks when Talya interrupted, then raised his hand, "ah, yes, I'd like to go first, please."