Gizmo

"Stop making Hannah uncomfortable, short, dark and psycho," Sofia demanded with a scowl that suggested she'd heard the survivalist's last comment but was pointedly ignoring it. The imposing athlete turned to the three larger boys - she refused to use either of their squad names on principles of good taste - and continued, "You morons stop making everyone uncomfortable. Why is that such a difficult concept? Ugh. Just try to ignore them, Corinne. They don't seem to understand the meaning of 'no'." Celeste circled around to put a supportive hand on Hannah's shoulder while the brunette hid behind her book. "If you stood up for yourself more this sort of thing wouldn't happen so often," she murmured in a sympathetic tone before turning to the Brohort with a distinct smirk, locking eyes with the quietest of the trio. "Honestly, Ryan. You know better than this."

"I may not be much of a swimmer," Winifred allowed, having only learned the very basics since she'd begun at the Academy, "but that looks about as 'good swimming' as the Thames." She didn't get quite as close to the edge at Riley, though curiosity still had her leaning further forward to peer into the murky depths than might have been strictly advisable. "I've heard good things about the local beachfront. Did you go there on your Earth? No trees in the sand, I'd assume." She followed Riley's suggestion, setting one of her smaller flasks of byzantine fire next to the weathered vehicle; they were testing the tripwire mechanism in this case, not the explosive itself. The wire was carefully spooled out, the opposite end pinned to the bottom edge of the warehouse. She thought she'd struck a good balance between sturdiness and unobtrusiveness with the thickness of the spun metal but gauging how taunt to make it felt more like guesswork than she liked. "How do you suppose that looks?"

"That's awful," Faiza sympathized just before a notification sound pinged from her phone. She looked down and with a soft tut quickly tapped out a reply to the message. "Sorry, Corinne, our friend Madison needs us to meet her over in the library to study for our physics exam." It would have been more accurate to say that she needed Faiza's help specifically but Madison could be prickly about asking for help and a small study group was easier on her pride than one-on-one tutoring would have been. Sofia made a sound of acknowledgement, scanning the cafeteria for something she could quickly pick up and eat on the way. Fishing out her own phone she looked to the new girl. "Here, I'll text you our numbers. If you need help finding stuff or getting settled or whatever just give us a shout, yeah?"

"You don't seem particularly nervous, ma'am," Jilinson-08 observed while pacing around the Ambassador's office for the umpteenth time, eyes darting about for any minute detail he might have missed previously. For his part the straight-backed bodyguard was visibly tenser than usual. He was a man who liked to plan for every eventuality but with so many variables at play on election day there was no choice but to delegate some of that responsibility to the rest of the station's security staff. It wasn't so much that he doubted their competency but today they all needed to be better than perfect. "Should I be?" Diana Th'emme asked with a barely concealed note of amusement. Her pantsuit was a genuine work of art, lines calling back to traditional Lor formalwear while referencing both the Fleet's current officer's uniform and the very latest of fashionable business attire. It veritably dripped confident authority and though it likely cost most than some of the craft docking at the station she'd earlier waved it off as 'a gift from a supporter'. Likewise her jewelry was comprised of tokens of respect and appreciation from major factions in CoVic's political tableau, collected over her time on the station since the Incursion. The message was clear: today's results spoke not only for the Lor but for galactic culture as a whole. The clone soldier pulled a face briefly before quickly schooling his expression back into order. "Last polls I saw said 'too close to call'. Nervous seems like it's going around." He'd had to break up more than one fistfight in the recreation districts over the past few weeks before they'd turned into blaster fights. Either way things shook out the day would mark a radical shift for everyone living on CoVic and for a population of refugees and survivors that sentiment had an ominous ring. A military man through-and-through, Jilinson-08 admired the Grand Nauarchus but he'd seen enough realpolitik working with Th'emme to understand that commanding a battle wasn't the same as leading a civilization. Not that there wasn't some overlap, admittedly. The Ambassador herself raised a hand in a calming gesture. "Everything that could be done was set in motion months ago. Not to naysay the polls but you'll note that one candidate is standing in her own office while the other should be settling into her guest quarters as we speak. That said, it's about time we set out." She gestured to one of the readouts scrolling information above her desk. "Captain Shepherd-07's ship is about to dock, with my daughter aboard."

Ghost Girl Initiative: 1d20+3 21

Autobots of Freedom City Elite - if unconventional - team operating in full view of the human public, seeking to improve relationships between Earth and Cybertron. Lilium Magnus - Alt-mode is an accommodating minivan painted with a delightful flower motif. Undisputed ruler of a Cybertronian colony world. Gaian Prime - Transforms into an unassuming beige sedan. Wielder of the unfathomably powerful Star Saber. Tiamat - Headmaster who considers her massive dragon alt-mode her 'true' form. Comrade - Rusted out Soviet-era saloon. Affects an exaggerated accent. May actually be a variant of sparkeater. Solomus - Takes his name from one of the Thirteen. Rescue helicopter alt-mode equipped with loudspeakers. Interceptobots / Warden A combiner team formed of emergency response vehicles. Jacknife - Transforms into a fire engine, with his trademark swords forming his alt-mode's extendable ladder. Forms the torso and combiner-sized sword. Willow - Forest ranger off-road pickup truck. Robot mode has distinctive white pneumatics resembling hair. Forms the right arm. Bombshell - Classic sports car with concealed police siren. Has a bit too much fun messing with human law enforcement. Forms the left arm. Cure-All - Ambulance; spends a lot of time working in vehicle mode. Equipped with force field generators. Forms the right leg. Harrier - Armoured SWAT vehicle with an imposing pike. Spent centuries as a drone until shell program was broken. Forms the left leg. Gecko - Outrageously green motorcycle. Very close with human mechanic ally Elizabeth. Forms the chest plate/emblem. Dragonfly - Prototype single-seat aircraft with additional laser canon mode. Insists she is not actually part of the Interceptobots. Vince Villa and Elizabeth Lawless - Human allies. Dutemps Pretenders Protected by Senator Vulpes Caerus this group of outcasts uses mass-shifting technology to achieve three forms: a normal robot mode, robotic versions of monsters from Earth and Cybertron's mythologies and a 'Pretender' mode which can pass for human! Vulpes Caerus - Deceptively small mnemosurgeon with a turbofox alt-mode. Often introduces herself as 'Blue Fox' rather than reveal her high ranking status. Wraith - Adopts the form of a metal-eating horror of Cybertronian legend. Sentio metallico never fully solidified. Ghoststorm - Monster mode based on accounts of the Necrobot. Malfunctioning teleportation equipment allows passing through solid objects. Gruesome - Expert in human popular culture, based her monster mode on human ideas about alien invaders. Temperance - Outlier with uncanny control over dihydrogen monoxide. Monster mode appears to be made of ice. Tigerstripe - Bestial monster mode after a failed Transmetal 2 conversion. Master of Metallikato. Aquarius - Amphibious, frog-like monster mode. Uses mass-shifting to fit anything in her mouth. Mouth is pretty big to begin with anyway. Singularity - Not a Pretender, shares a chassis mold with Wander. Stays close to Aquaria and prefers not to fight. Black Nihilor - Deception defector who deals in the power of dark energon - the blood of Unicron. Took her name from a city destroyed during the war. Sean Tulip and Betty 'Blue' Byrd - Human allies. Knights of Liberty Pattern themselves after a legendary order that protected the rights of all sentient beings. Edgimus - Sports car alt-mode that looks like it was designed by an enthusiastic youth - chrome exhaust pipes, massive spoiler, bombastic paint job. Midnight - Black motorcycle with sidecars that deploy into different equipment. Assumed to have a damaged voice box, actually just doesn't talk much. Wander - Heavy duty SUV who saw traumatizing action fighting Terrorcons during the war. Tends to uproot street lamps to use as weapons. Cobalt Tempus - Semi truck with a trailer that transforms into even larger armour. Uses a Cyber Planet Key to deploy additional weaponry. Phalanx - Passenger jet alt-mode. Frequently saves the day by carrying actual passenger jets to safety. Psyche - Compact hybrid with an eye-popping paint job. Outlier capable of picking up the thoughts of other Cybertronians. Monsoon - Speed boat. Not entirely opposed to the idea of just conquering Earth. For the humans' own good, of course. Veronica 'Red' Byrd - Human ally. Misc. Shadowset and Sekhmech - Beast-formers from a colony world where Cybertronians are worshiped as gods by the native organics. Sun Walker - Transmetal beast-former with a robotic monkey alt-mode and a bestial robot mode. The Phantom Prime - Said to be a servant of the Thirteen. Titanic space cruiser alt-mode. Fabulous cape in robot mode. Almechist - Prim and proper Headmaster accidentally bonded to a rampaging Dinobot. Sparkler - Jet alt-mode. Everybody knows you can't trust jets, so tall and always thinking they're better than everyone! Frostbyte - Extremely friendly snowplow fascinated by human clothing. Frequently leaves roads snowier than before. Fast-Forward - Decepticon deserter turned entertainer. Sports car with gull-wing doors. Hologram - Decepticon deserter turned entertainer. Stylish but practical minivan. Thoughtspeed - Young bot raised by Fast-Forward and Hologram. Front-wheel drive coupe.

The off-key chanting drew the attention of Sofia Torrez, causing her to pause in the middle of the push-ups she was doing on the paved area closer to the building and mutter something darkly under her breath. Celeste le Faye, seated cross-legged on her teammate's back looked up from her book and tilted her head to one side. "We are allowed to hate those guys, yes?" "The toxically macho meatheads going out of their way to be obnoxious?" Sofia grated, supporting herself with one hand while using the other to wave Celeste off of her back. "Yeah, I think you're good." Climbing to her feet she dusted off her hands and scanned the campus lawn. "And they're heading right for the hobo nut job, speaking of meatheads. Come on, there's no way they don't tick Smith off enough to start a fight and Hannah Cooper and that new girl I was telling you about are going to be stuck right in the middle." "Well, that should be interesting!" Celeste perked up as she followed the more athletic girl's gaze. One way or another Riley was always fun to play with but she realized the girls he was talking to would probably be less enthusiastic about a little impromptu scuffle. She flapped her butterfly wings a few times, stretching them out while she retrieved her purse. "Let's go save the day!"

"First, still not old! Second, this thing is all muscle, Dora," Erik insisted as he let Talya haul him to his feet. The fencer slapped his rear with both hands to emphasize the point but did their students the courtesy of refraining from actually turning around and shaking it. "Could bounce a fireball off of this thing. And I have! But if you help evaporate this ice I'll not only get the girls, I'll let you make the joke about Snowflake watching Butterfly's backside." Raina struck him as about as comfortable with the sudden emotional honestly Phaedra was dishing out as he had been back when the original Interceptors had first formed; hopefully playing the clown a bit would keep her from saying anything to strain that tenuous friendship. Turning his attention to the other girls he pointed to Cathy. "You hang back and wait for your friends to make the first move but with your powers you should be defining the battlefield before anybody else has a chance to get going. Ice slicks, barriers, that'll take a speedster right out of the fight. You got a shooter in your crew, make them a platform. People should be reacting to you, yeah?" He moved his finger toward the redhead and continued. "The teleporting's good, would have worked on most people. If your weapon works the way it smells--" Erik stopped briefly and rephrased for clarity, "If it works the way I think it does, you could be doing a lot more with it. If you two are seriously about putting in the work, we'd be happy to have you here."

Investigate Check: 1d20+10 28 Search Check: 1d20+10 24 Behold Winifred's powers of deduction!

"A fact which sadly makes the case for the odd, barely regulated, vigilante-based system at work," Winifred mused as they traipsed further into the fenced off area. Very much a city girl at heart the alchemist had never spent much time in wild areas and while Riley took careful stock of potential avenues of attack her head was on a swivel, trying to take in everything at once, making mental notes. She wondered if she might find useful components growing in the underbrush. Stepping carefully over some metal beams that had been left behind decades before, she opened the flap of her bag and took inventory. "I want to test the new triggering mechanism, specifically. The wind-up timers I'm confident in but the tripwires seem a bit dodgy, frankly. You've gotten them to work before?"

Notice Check: 1d20+5 25 Notice ALL the things! Fred also has ranks in Investigate and Search as well, when there's a chance to use them.

"Hah, you sound just like--" Winifred cut that line of though short, pressing her lips into a thin line for a moment but quickly pushing past memories she wasn't prepared to deal with just then. "Mh. That is to say, you make a strong case for greater ambition. It seems as though a more mature audience might find fault with my age but perhaps a good idea truly can speak for itself." She studied Raina's reflection in the mirror, seemingly lost in thought, before turning to her own reflection to tug the lines of her shirt crisply back into place. "Our visit to the AEON Institute may not have gone very well but I wonder if Miss Albright might not be interested in this. She was quite keen on providing for those with unusual needs and physiologies."

"We might take a moment to make sure. I'd hate for Matthew to learn we'd accidentally blown an unsuspecting mongrel to smithereens." Between her crisp diction and odd sense of humour it could be a little difficult to tell when Winifred was trying to be funny but they'd spent enough time working together for Riley to have gotten a reasonably good feel for it. The displaced Victorian had left her riding boots back at the Academy in favour of the beaten sneakers she didn't mind getting dirty but she her steps were still ginger as she tried to avoid any major hazards. "Do you think we'll be far enough from the road to avoid rousing suspicion? Some of these are liable to make quite a din." She patted the bag slung over her shoulder, the sound of glass clinking off of glass muffled by the heavy canvas.

Jack of all Blades / Jill O'Cure (3) Present Arms (1) Dance Me to the End (2) Ghost Girl (3) Horrorshow (3) Set / Sekhmet (3) Death Cab For Cutie (3) Rock / Nae-Dae April / May Vignette - "Civil Discourse" Reagent / The Alkahest (12) Maybe It's Alchemy (9) Deep Into That Darkness Peering (3) GM / NPC (10 * 2 = 20) The In Crowd (10) Ref Point and Rollover to Reagent, please!

June 4, 2017 The rails out of Greenbank might not have run trains out to Goldman Quarry anymore but that didn't mean the abandoned hole in the ground never saw visitors. At some point in the early aughts a Claremont student who's name had been lost to the annals of high school history had hit upon the quarry as a good place to test out powers a little too destructive for supervised sessions in the Doom Room and the location had been passed from rebel to loner to misunderstood problem child. Every few years the faculty had reason to make it clear that students were to stay well away from the quarry but those who made use of it tended to prefer asking forgiveness rather than permission anyway. At least that's how Riley had explained it to Winifred after they'd begun searching for somewhere to test the new explosives they'd been tinkering with in the chemistry lab. "You're sure you know where you're going?" the alchemist shouted over the noise of the wind, seated behind the survivalist on his motorcycle. They'd already driven clear across the length of the city from Bayview but she still hadn't decided which was the more terrifying conveyance between Smith's bike and Sanderson's flying broomstick.

Erik squawked indignantly at his sword distorted itself into a loose ribbon, turning the intentional invitation to attack into a hole in his guard Phaedra could have driven a truck through. He got the impression he wouldn't have won in a tug-of-war with the young pyromancer but a small application of will restored the blade to shape as she turned her attention back to Talya. That concentration cost him, however as snapping the weapon up to block Phae's initial swing took him further still out of his stance, momentum sending him right toward the winged teenager's second attack after teleporting. The fencer began twisting the moment Phae reappeared - before, she was certain, he could have actually seen her. Where his earlier dodging had been a graceful sort of dance, this time he hastily shifted his weight and kicked with one foot, sending himself into a low summersault. The roll took him onto the icy sheet Cathy had created over the training mats and he skidded awkwardly between her and Raina to end up on his backside near Talya's feet, where he immediately erupted in laughter. "Haha, ow. I have to admit, that was a lot better than I was expecting," he told the young women as he let his sword flicker away to embers and raised his empty hands to indicate the exercise was finished for the time being. "Forgot you could do that, Dora. That was good teamwork all around. I'm beginning to think you've got a point about needing a more durable training space, cielo." He wasn't sure how the mats were going to hold up to defrosting and he definitely didn't want Raina tossing around any more fireballs just yet. They were also going to need more space to accommodate Phae's wings. Maybe somewhere in the forest for now, he considered.

"Huh? I don't know, I think Chicago or something," Sofia as they entered the cafeteria. With lunch periods staggered slightly it stayed fairly busy throughout the afternoon, some students grabbing a quick snack on the go and others hunkering down with heavily laden trays. Accommodating the dietary needs of the diverse student body meant a wealth of options for the adventurous. "I think that was a joke," Faiza noted, trying to hide a smile. "The 'queen bee' sort is unfortunately a universal phenomenon, I'm sorry to say, Corinne. Fortunately you won't find many people here who'll fall for that sort of thing so you don't have anything to worry about where Raina is concerned." "Apart from listening to her complaining nonstop," her taller friend grumbled. She paused before adding, "Or how she sets things on fire given half an excuse."

Makes sense, Fox. Fred doesn't know much about electronics so she's lean toward the home but she'd trust Merlin to pick up the slack at the warehouse if it came down to it.

"Mia gave me the look so I let her go back to sleep," Erik explained as he returned from down the hallway with an infant in each arm. Emily had gone back to dozing as soon as he'd picked her up, burying her little face in her father's shoulder. Terry on the other hand seemed fully alert, making uncertain sounds while his head swivelled about trying to take in the whole room at once. Just as Talya had described his right eye was a uniform silvery-white and radiated a pale glow that was subtle in the lit room but unmistakeable whenever he looked directly at one of the guests. Whatever he saw seemed to distress him further and Erik bounced him up and down gently to settle him down. "Did I miss anything?" he asked, splitting his attention between the twins and the gathered adults.

CATALYZED by Fox Reagent / The Alkahest Substantial edits here with rebalancing to keep Reagent at an effective PL8 and bring the Alkahest up to an effective PL15, spending 51PP total. I've outlined all of the additions and subtractions point by point below then included a complete version of the mechanical portion of her sheet with all of the appropriate changes and adjusted bonuses. Page title should now be Reagent / Alkahest (PL8/15) Trade-Offs should now be: Reagent: +2 Attack / -2 Damage (Bartitsu Cane), None (Alchemical Flasks), +4 Defense / -4 Toughness Alkahest: -5 Attack / +5 Damage, -5 Defense / +5 Toughness Age is now 18. Minor changes to first paragraph of her Description: Winifred Wei is a slim young woman characterized by her impeccable comportment and intense demeanor. Her jet black hair has recently been styled in a tidy pixie cut with sharp edges that keep it off of her heart-shaped face. Perpetual dark circles under her eyes speak to a lack of sleep and abundance of stress but her tone of voice is nevertheless clipped and precise. While gradually growing accustomed to modern fashions she still tends toward conservative styles and colours. When expecting trouble she carries a broad leather bandolier filled with stoppered vials of alarmingly coloured alchemical concoctions and is rarely seen without her elegant mahogany walking stick with its serpentine styled head. Abilities [6PP spent] +2 Intelligence +4 Charisma Combat [4PP spent] +2 Base Defense Saving Throws [3PP spent] +1 Fortitude +1 Reflex +1 Will Skills [7PP spent] +2 Bluff -1 Craft [Chemical] +2 Diplomacy +1 Disable Device +4 Intimidate +3 Investigate +1 Knowledge [Business] +3 Knowledge [Physical Sciences] +6 Perform [Stringed Instruments] +4 Perform [Vocals] +3 Search Feats [1PP spent] - Equipment 1 + Improvised Tools + Skill Mastery (Craft [Chemical], Disable Device, Knowledge [Physical Sciences], Medicine) Powers [30PP spent] [8PP] Bandolier of Alchemical Flasks becomes: Device 5 (Bandolier of Alchemical Flasks; 25PP Container; Flaws: Hard-to-Lose) [20PP] Base: Damage 8 (Byzantine Fire; Extras: Area [General, Burst], Ranged, Secondary Effect, Flaws: Action [Full Round], Unreliable [5 Uses], Feats: Alternate Power 5, Incurable, Progression 1 [Increased Area; 40' - 80' radius], Triggered 2) [25DP] (chemical, fire) AP: Confuse 8 (Hallucinogenic Fumes; Extras: Alternate Save [Fortitude, +0], Area [General, Burst], Flaws: Unreliable [5 Uses], Feats: Progression 5 [Decrease Area 4, Increase Area 1; 20' - 80' radius], Ricochet, Triggered 2) {16/20} (chemical, inhalant) AP: Drain Toughness 8 (Inorganic Solvent; Extras: Affects Objects Only [+0], Ranged, Secondary Effect, Flaws: Unreliable [5 Uses], Feats: Incurable, Ricochet, Triggered 2) {20/20} (chemical, acid) AP: Healing 8 (Lesser Elixir; Extras: Total, Flaws: Unreliable [5 Uses], Feats: Stabilize, Persistent, Regrowth) {19/20} (chemical, qi) AP: Obscure 5 (Magnetic Dust; Radio, Visual; Extras: Action [Move], Independent [+0], Flaws: Unreliable [5 Uses], Feats: Progression 2 [Decrease Area; 25' - 100' radius], Ricochet, Triggered 2) {20/20} (chemical, magnetism, smoke) AP: Snare 8 (Resin Adhesive; Extras: Contagious, Flaws: Unreliable [5 Uses] Feats: Reversible, Ricochet, Triggered 2) {20/20} (chemical) Notably the Drain Toughness and Snare effects are new and most of the flasks gain Triggered 2. [3PP] Bartitsu Cane becomes a Device: Device 1 (Bartitsu Cane; 5PP Container; Flaws: Easy-to-Lose) [3PP] Damage 4 (Feats: Mighty) [5DP] (chemically treated wood) [-1PP] Presence of Mind becomes Enhanced Feats 2 (Presence of Mind; Dodge Focus 2, Flaws: Limited [Human Form]) [1PP] (training) Alkahest Form makes the following changes: [9PP] +3 Density [4PP] +4 Enhanced Strength [2PP] +2 Enhanced Constitution [-2PP] +2 Decreased Intelligence [2PP] +1 Enhanced Attack [2PP] +1 Enhanced Defense [2PP] +2 Enhanced Feats - Challenge [Fast Startle], Startle [1PP] +4 Enhanced Intimidate

"Ha! Alright, steady on, Cathy," Winifred laughed as she was enveloped in the hug, returning it with one arm and the hesitation of someone unused to - though not opposed to - physical displays of affection. After a beat she squeezed the Scot a little tighter, burying her face in the shoulder of Cathy's sweater and letting out a hitching breath. Her emotional whiplash seemed to have evened out by the time she extricated herself. "I'm very glad you both like it. I don't suppose I can imagine a higher compliment than to select a new outfit simply to best accentuate the cosmetics." It wasn't hard to convince Raina to go shopping, particularly if someone else was footing the bill but she'd generally disdained both the generic uniforms provided by the school and the more fanciful attire that seemed to be part and parcel for heroes of the modern day in equal measure. "I was considering taking orders from our classmates, seeing what was most popular before selecting a core inventory but... I doubt our dear colleagues in the Next-Gen society would respond favourably to that announcement. It may not be worth the headache."

Sofia arched a brow as she opened one of a pair of double doors and ushered the other girls inside. "What do-- Oh, I guess I mentioned her earlier. Ugh. She's a @#$%." Faiza made a disgruntled sound at the coarse language but didn't immediately disagree. "It's... complicated. There are people from all sorts of places and situations attending Claremont, Corinne and some of those situations are... unfortunate." "Her parents are literally cult leaders," Sofia jumped back in, blunt where Faiza was attempting to be diplomatic. "Dark magic, blood sacrifices, secret meetings, all of that. The good guys finally caught them a couple years back, busted up the whole cult and the way I hear it Sanderson was right there, trying to fight off the heroes so they couldn't take her pony away." "Her family was quite wealthy," Faiza clarified, mouth pressed into a thing line. She didn't care for talking about people when they weren't around but it was only fair to warn a new student. "Obviously that was all illegal so she wasn't left with much when her parents were imprisoned. Evidently none of her other relatives agreed to take her in so..." "So we get to deal with her. She still acts like she's the most popular girl in school but literally nobody likes her apart from a couple mean girl groupies." Sofia snorted. "I bet she hates that you're taller than her."

Winifred was already engrossed in reading the provided packet of information by the time the others had weighed in and only looked back up with an owlish blink as she dimly realized the Headmistress was looking to her. "Ah. Things seem thoroughly prepared, yes." She glanced to the others to gauge their expressions, pointedly refusing to acknowledge the unannounced appearance of another of Matthew's hounds; they seemed only to do that sort of thing for the attention. She considered asking whether they'd be kept informed about the case and its resolution afterward considering how tightlipped the administration had proved to be on other matters but held her tongue. It would be much easier to discover that information for themselves without giving Summers advance warning, she reasoned.

Ghost Girl's entire form remained strangely out of focus for two or three full seconds, as though Wraith was viewing her in her peripheral vision. Eventually she snapped back into focus with a full body shake and a supremely irritated expression. "Guh. If you want his real hand you can have it, little creep," she grumbled, straightening her cinched coat by hand even though sh could have fixed it with a thought. "We try not to think about it, honestly but then you're talking to a gal who hasn't had to worry about deodorant in a while." The poltergeist sighed, still feeling something akin to headache from the strange double-vision of the illusory world. "Alright, let's go see if he's knocked himself out or not. You got the part where he's terrified of aliens for whatever reason, eh?"

Faiza had clearly been pleased to hear the subject changing and looked unmistakably embarrassed when Corinne mentioned birth control. "Um. Sofia...?" "I don't even have powers," the more muscular girl pointed out, not working very hard to conceal a smirk as they continued toward the cafeteria. Her friend pulled a face but clearly her sense of responsibility to leave the new student properly informed outweighed the awkwardness she felt for the topic. "Honestly? It might but there's no sense worrying until the office has had a chance to run some tests. That sort of thing is what they're best at! Some of the girls are too sturdy for regular needles or their metabolisms are different so the dosages need changing. It's all about learning what's normal for you." Faiza felt very strongly about using certain words when it came to metahumans and their needs. "They test all that stuff," Sofia agreed as they passed between several tables where students were enjoying their lunch outside. "Like, they wouldn't want to put you under to take out your tonsils if you're going to subconsciously glass the room."