Russoboo

Darren's eyes flashed down to Marcel's hand and then back up to the other boy's face as he smiled. He shook the offered hand and added "Darren Stelzer, nice to meet you all, though I guess we've, like, been together for awhile now. Better late than never." After a flurry of introductions, the other three parted ways, together, and Darren found himself left standing in the classroom with Elias and Subito. He turned to face them, smile tamed to a little curve of his mouth, and tipped his head to the side in thought. His thumb dragged down his jaw. "So, like, I'm really not much of an extra-credit Type A student and I'd rather not with this whole thing, but..." Darren bit his lip. "I only started using Anna's notes recently, so I've got like half a semester of not so great tests I need to make up for. If we just write it, that's, like, three pages each, we could do that easy."

Darren had been mostly paying attention to the lecture, since this one thankfully had the decency to include slides, no matter how spotty and faded they'd gotten since the sixties. He'd even managed to take what he hoped was an adequate amount of notes, though he expected he'd missed a bit of the more subtle interstellar political intrigue. At the first sign class was over, he capped his pen (today's was green), closed his notebook, and slid his phone out of his pocket and navigated to a new tweet almost on muscle memory. Darren was up and nearly through the door to the hall before the sound of his name struck him. He stopped, locked and stowed his phone, and turned to face Dr. Valero and his classmates. A glance at Subito and Elias - he liked both of them individually, so together seemed fine, too. The other three weren't nearly so familiar to him. He looked at the carpet for a moment and then up to Dr. Valero with a sheepish smile. "Thanks, but, like, I only did as well as I did 'cause I kind of looked at my sister's notes from last year since she's a total control freak perfectionist who keeps that kind of stuff around." He rocked back on his heels. "And this is worth, like, extra credit, right?"

Sounds good, let's do it.

Darren touched his fingertips to his heart. "Please, nothing about my talk is, like, random. I just like to throw out a lot of red herrings, keep people on their metaphorical toes. It's a good way to weed out the normals - they can't handle it. Get all confused and angry, it's really quite cute." He blinked slowly, looked down at his book, and then up towards the sky with pursed lips. "But, I guess that didn't work on you.Hmm hmm." With a stretch, Darren stood up off his lounge chair, which fell into a cloud of glittering dust that disappeared in the air. He stuffed his book back into his bag, then smiled at Marcus. "Maybe I misjudged you a little. Anyone who can actually, like, admit that I know what I'm doing can't be completely boring. Still a bit on the plebeish side, but this is America, right? Upward mobility!" Darren waved his phone. "Give me your number. Maybe I'll even help you with, like, super people problems or something."

"Yeah, I guess there would be. Rules, that is. Claremont's pretty big on them, but, like, sometimes you just gotta play outside the lines." Darren stopped to consider what he'd said, then frowned. "Not for, like, a bad reason, but I'd say 'someone altered my memories' should be a compelling reason to make an exception, right? Well, whatever, if they won't help, I'm sure you'll figure something out. You're a smart guy." He rolled his shoulders. "I feel kinda useless right now. Like, I find out you've got a little programmed amnesia and there's nothing I can do about it. Except, like..." Darren hummed and folded his arms together. "I'm not exactly a model Claremont student, but I might be able to call in some favors if you find something specific you need."

Player Name: Russoboo Character Name: Armada Power Level: 7 (105/105PP) Trade-Offs: -5 Defense / +5 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 0 Progress To Bronze Status: 0/30 In Brief: Modern day mythical hero sponsored by treasure-loving spirit. Alternate Identity: Matvey "Matthew" Lagunov Identity: Secret Birthplace: Chicago, IL Occupation: Singed Affiliations: Parkhurst Mystics Family: Description: Age: 24 (DoB: December 2nd, 1988) Apparent Age: 24 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'10" Weight: 170 lbs Eyes: Hazel Hair: Red-Brown (Physical Description) Power Descriptions: Armada's powers are magical in nature, but require no incantations or gestures. Quite simply, he is capable of summoning duplicates of legendary and mythical arms and armor. The summons are usually accompanied by flashes of light, rushes of hot forge air, or the din of battle, rendering Armada's powers somewhat theatrical by default. Rather than cast spells himself, he relies exclusively on the powers and abilities forged into each individual weapon. History: Personality & Motivation: Powers & Tactics: Complications: Abilities: 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 8 = 8PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 14 + 4 = 18PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +7 (+7 Base) Grapple: +0 Defense: +2 (+2 Base), +5 Flat-Footed Knockback: -0 Saving Throws: 5 + 4 + 5 = 18PP Toughness: +12 (+12 Protection) Fortitude: +6 (+6) Reflex: +6 (+6) Will: +6 (+6) Skills: 32R = 8PP Bluff 4 (+8) Diplomacy 4 (+8) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 4 (+4) Knowledge (Pop Culture) 5 (+5) Language 1 (English [native], Russian) Notice 4 (+4) Perform (Singing) 6 (+10) Sense Motive 4 (+4) Feats: 9PP Elusive Target Evasion 2 Improved Critical 2 [Recast] Interpose Move-By Action Quick Change Takedown Attack Powers: 8 + 22 + 12 + 2 = 54 pp Damage 7 ("Recast"; summon, magic, weapon; PFs: Variable Descriptor 1 [any physical damage type]) [8pp] Mythical Weapons (summon, magic, weapon; PFs: Alternate Power 8) [22pp] BP: Concealment 7 (Tarnkappe; visual [all], hearing [all], olfactory [normal]) [14/14]AP: Dazzle (Visual) 7 (Excalibur; light) [14/14] AP: Emotion Control 7 (Cupid's Arrow) [14/14] AP: ESP (Visual/Auditory) 7 (The Smoking Mirror; Flaws: Feedback) [14/14] AP: Flight 7 (Prince Husain's Carpet; Extras: Affects Others; Flaws Platform; 1000 mph) [14/14] AP: Nullify Magic 7 (Ring of Dispel; Extras: Area [burst]; Flaws: Range [Touch]) [14/14] AP: Snare 7 (Gleipnir; metal, chain) [14/14] AP: Adds Area [Line] and Penetrating 7 to Damage (Riyu Jingu Bang) [14/14] AP: Adds Range [Ranged] and Autofire 1 to Damage (Gandiva) [14/14] Protection 12 (Aegis; summon, magic, metal, armor; Extras: Force Field [+0]) [12pp] Speed 2 (Seven-League Boots; magic; 25 mph) [2pp] Drawbacks: 0PP None DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC15 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Damage Touch DC22 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Dazzle Ranged DC22 Reflex Visual Dazzle Emotion Control Ranged DC22 Will Various Nullify Burst DC22 Will Counter Snare Ranged DC22 Reflex Entangled/BoundTotals: Abilities (8) + Combat (18) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (8) + Feats (9) + Powers (54) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/105 Power Points

"Everyone's out to prove something. Especially everyone here. The kinds of kids who go to super school aren't exactly the most self-confident on the whole." Darren drummed his fingers down the spine of his book. He gave Marcus a bit of a bored stare, then rolled his eyes. His phone started to buzz - he unlocked it and started to swipe his way through the menus to race out a text message. "Unfortunately, like, one of my super powers is the power to be super talkative, I really can't control the deluge sometimes. It can be a total handful, you have no idea how hard it is for me to keep quiet during, like, tests and stuff. Just awful!" Darren smiled at his screen. "And anyway, I was going to say that, like, you should try to think of your magic conduit as a prism when you're channeling light as your source. Light bends, but it doesn't shape, so you can't think of it like any of the more classical elements, right? Totally clutch magical theory here."

"And that's the last you heard from them? Definitely doesn't sound good..." Darren rubbed his chin with his thumb as he slid in a slow backwards circle. He flexed his other hand open and closed - little flecks of crystal twinkled and faded in rhythm. "I want you to show me, but here probably, like, isn't the right place for that." "Have you asked anyone at Claremont? About the memory thing, I mean. I obviously don't know too much about how telepathy works, but, like, another psychic might be able to poke around and fix it, right? Teacher or student, doesn't matter. Or maybe someone like Morgan can give you a magic reboot." He angled his feet and his skating slowed to a stop. "I'm a little surprised you can't do it yourself, actually. Does pointing telepathy at yourself make, like, a feedback loop or something?"

"Wow. I don't think I can even make a daddy issues joke about that, he sounds a psycho. But I guess that's, like, par for the course for fascism." Darren rubbed at the back of his neck and gave Elias a little frown. He nudged the other boy with his elbow and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, back towards the open ice. With a shuffle of cloth, he stuffed one hand in a pocket for warmth and turned his cup over in the other. "It is kind of a bombshell, but it seems like something you should talk about. Like anything else, if it's getting all heavy on you, just tell me about it and I promise to keep my freaking out to a minimum level. Expression is the better part of valor." Darren tapped a skate against the ice. "What happened to your mom, if I can ask? He didn't, like...catch her, did he?"

"Hmm." Darren turned about, slid back in a shallow loop on his right foot. "Sometimes I forget that you're, like, not just a psychic receiver, you can actually transmit, too. I'm so used to having completely one-track powers, I get a little dumb about it. Keeping it all under control is very, well, pragmatic of you, then. Although," he drained the last of his cocoa with a glug, "and this is something a shrink told me, so you know it's a terrible idea, you need some outlet. Control is great up until it slips and you don't know what to do about it. Like, I'm sure that won't happen, but it'd still probably be good to find someone you can't push." "Like, an echo chamber." He shook his head. "No, wait, that sounds like a feedback loop. More like...one of those music rooms with the soundproof walls? Yeah." Darren pointed the cup first at Elias and then at himself. "I'd totally volunteer if you wanted, but, like, I'd need to get some extracurriculars on psy-defense first. Maybe a robot, do we know any of those? Not the murder rampage kind, though." "And," he put a hand over his heart and mock stumbled, "I can't believe you'd, like, wound me like that! I'm not Gossip Girl here, I'm actually very, very good at keeping secrets when I need to. Or when I'm asked to. But even though you didn't, I think I'll still be quiet about it. Like you said, people probably wouldn't believe it without seeing it, so they'd just think I'm some horrible rumor mill even though I'm one-hundred percent honest a lot of the time."

Darren crossed his arms over his chest and pulled in a breath. He sighed and fog billowed out of his mouth. He tipped his head towards Elias. "Well, it still, like, freaks me out a little to think of all that happening, but if you say you're fine, then I believe you. It definitely explains a lot, I guess. Like, gives me a better frame of reference." Darren reached back and picked up his own cocoa, then took a drink, albeit quieter than Elias. He wobbled around Elias and got a few from the bench before he turned on his skates. "And I agree, like, you probably should feel something about it all, but I also get it, you know?" "It's totally uncool to compare traumas, so I won't, but sometimes the big things, the stuff that makes us who and how we are, they can, like, be too big to get emotional about. They just are. Most people, I think, have something like that. It's, like, a defense mechanism." Darren's eyes flicked down to his dwindling supply of hot chocolate. "You know, if this was a date, this would be, like, completely inappropriate and no one would call back for a second date." His lips twitched back around a smile. "Lucky for you, I'm not just here for your pretty face. How confidential do you want this conversation to be, by the way?"

"I'm not terrified, it just-" Darren paused and scrunched up his face, but the words didn't come to him. He deflated. "You're right, the reason doesn't really matter. I guess if I really trusted you, I wouldn't think I needed to shut you out." Darren looked up at Elias curiously as the boy stood and turned. He stared at Elias' stomach, eyes almost level with the hand-shaped scar, and lay a hand over his mouth. His eyes turned up to meet Elias' and Darren seemed suddenly small. He reached out to tug at the hem of Elias' shirt and bring it back down, and his other hand left his mouth enough for him to find his voice. "That's...not what I expected. I'm sorry." Darren moved his cocoa to the bench and stood up, then wrung his hands. "I feel like, like, I should hug you, but I can understand why you maybe wouldn't want that, so I won't if you don't want to. I can't even imagine."

"Subito is kind of a doof, but sometimes he knows what's up. Considering how he is around me, I wouldn't be surprised if he was carrying a little torch for you, too." Darren tittered into the curve of his hand. He gave Elias a sidelong glance. "I guess the whole active superheroes thing does, like, necessitate some risk-taking behavior from all of us. Question was more about if you'd do the same kind of thing in your free time, if you think that risking bodily harm is fun on top of whatever other aspect motivates you to dress up and beat up criminals. My powers sort of obviate the need for the extreme sports side of things, which is perfect for me." Darren looked down at his drink, where he had it resting on one knee. His other leg bounced, restless. "Look, let me hash it out like this. I've told you that I'm not normally big on sharing, so I totally get why you'd want to avoid introducing any awkwardness. And, like, I'm not going to try to force information out of you." He turned to Elias with a sly grin. "But short of telling me 'Darren, the truth is I hate you, please die and/or never speak to me again', I'm pretty sure whatever awkward you've got, I can handle. We can even do, like, equivalent exchange here."

Darren shrugged. "I'm no telepath, I just get people. And like..." he rolled his hands through the air as he thought, "I'm used to that specific sentiment, it's pretty much been the kneejerk reaction to me since I got to Claremont. I can't say it isn't unfounded, either." Darren smiled, coy but teasing. "I mean, I am rich and I know how to be condescending, don't I? Well, I guess I personally wouldn't consider it condescending when I really am just better. More like all my pity for the little people just gets taken the wrong way." He looked back down at the book in his lap and started to read again. "So, you're giving up then, right? I was, like, curious to see if you'd actually figure your spell out, but I suppose I'll just have to be disappointed. Not really surprised, though." Darren brushed his thumb against his lip. "I even had some sage advice tucked away, but I'm not about to force it on you. That'd be, like, totally rude."

Adamas (10) (13) (2)