ic It's Mov(in)g Day!

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

Heroditus was taken aback by Leroy's... Leroy-ness, and stared wide-eyed for a moment.  Is he some sort of greeter?  Perhaps an upperclassman, seeking to ease the transition of new students?  Hold: did he say he's from 'one of the other Atlantises'?  Did one of the other colonies send him?

 

He bowed slightly, "thank you, you're very kind, but I am no knight, I am an artificer.  My name is Heroditus Fabricanos Stylianos," he bowed again, then nodded to Nick and Claude as they passed, "an I am honored to be here.  I am relieved to hear that about the RA, I was concerned there might be some difficulty in managing my sleeping arrangements.  Though I am sure you know all about that."  He took another drink from his waterskin, "I did not know there was a third Atlantean here.  Which one are you from?  Crantorium?  Also -- and please forgive my ignorance, as I am new to the Surface -- but what, pray tell, is that?"  He pointed to the green VW bug; he had not seen Dio's eyes or claws.

[Amelia]

Octoman

 

Quote

"Hrm? Oh. Oh! Well, what do you have on there? Maybe something with some heavy bass. Ooh, something classical, to subvert the image of undisciplined youths?"

 

"'Subvert'? But, I mean, 'undisciplined youth' is kinda my whole personal BRAND..."

 

Quote

 

Just behind her was Judy, her big eyes staring straight ahead with the look of somebody who was desperately trying not to cry. Her face wrinkled in that look that meant she wanted to cry.

"Scuse us," said Watchdog as they passed between the family and two boys standing in the hallway, giving them both a quick once-over as they went. "Dave."

 

 

Quote

He paused when he saw Ashley and Judy storm past, managing to give them a wave.  "Yikes, looks like some drama's already started.  Probably something Leroy did.  Uh, that's Judy's boyfriend," he explained to his family & roommate, "and Ashley, her older sister, is very protective of her."

 

"Sibling drama. Glad I never had to worry about THAT. Siblings would cramp my STYLE. Mamá and Tatay don't even have enough time for ONE kid."

 

The tips of his tentacles "thumbed" the "PAUSE" buttons on the portable speakers they were carrying, and then dropped them into Dayv's personal space. "Here, hold these. Be right back." One of the tentacles slapped Dayv lightly on the back, while the others, including a few new ones that sprouted out of his sides and back, dropped his stack of plastic tubs onto the floor and stretched as they shot out down the hallway. Weirdly, there were already other metal-grommetted holes in his shirt to accommodate them, though Dayv could swear they weren't there before.

 

His tentacles made a loud sucking noise as they slapped the wall near Ashley and Judy and the disks on their underside formed a vacuum seal. The stretched tentacles retracted, snapping Ben back down the hallway toward their purchase on the wall. He tumbled head over feet as he soared through the air, planting his feet on the ceiling in front of them to halt his flight.

 

"Yo, Charlotte La Bouff, Rosa Diaz, you guys OK? 'Cause you don't LOOK OK. I mean, you look GOOD, but not like..." He held his hands up parallel to each other, pointing the pair at each girl as he spoke. "YOU look like someone just made you cry, and YOU look like you wanna put both fists through someone who just made your sister cry. So does some fool need his ass kicked, or do we need to go out on an ice cream run, or what?"

 

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Back outside, Pan had decided to take a step back from everything that was happening. He was about to say something to Leroy, something to try and reassure him a bit, but decided against it when his friend greeted the newcomer. Flashing a smile and a shrug at Lulu and Adam, he decided he could just as well ask them.

 

"So... is it normal for this world to solve prolonged absences through marriage proposals? Or is it just as bad an idea as on Neverworld?" He kept an eye on Leroy, even as he spoke to the others. He seemed distracted for now, and everyone had dispersed a bit away from the scene. A thought occured to him, and he grinned widely at Lulu and Adam. "How about you, Adam? Finding any inspiration in this scene?" Pan moved his hand up so the couple could see it, an illusionary ring dancing around on it, before it disappeared while Pan let out a light laugh.

[Avenger Assembled]

Inside 

 

Once she'd gotten over the instinctual urge to shoot him in the face, Ashley shot Ben a faint but distinct smirk. It was nice to see that Claremont students actually gave a crap about each other. And besides, he reminds me of an old friend. This was definitely not the time to be making friends, though, so she instead hit the button for the building's elevator without doing more than giving the other student a grunt of acknowledgement. 

 

"Everything is just fine," lied Judy in a firm whisper as she made eye contact with Ben, something that would have been just about impossible for her even six months earlier. "A pleasure to meet you," she added, another lie not because she didn't like Ben but because her heart was breaking. "Ah'm Judy, this is Ashley." Judy smelled distinctly odd to the amazing octopod - she didn't really smell like anything! Oh there was perfume, perhaps, and whatever soap she used in that long black hair, but there was no smell of her last meal, no smell of sweat, no smell of anything. As the elevator doors opened, she smiled in a way that didn't reach her eyes at all and said, "We'll talk later." 

[Ari]

Outside

 

"The which?" Leroy took a moment to realize what Heroditus meant, but lit right back up. 

 

"Oh! That is my conveyance and spiritual guide here on Earth-Prime. It would not do to fly everywhere with my gravity powers, so that will carry me across the highways and byways on land. That shape is a 'car', also called a 'Beetle' for the hard shell and slow pace.They have begun to ean a new name, the name Diogenes, but at present they are called 'Dio'." 

 

"Dio and I both hail from New Atlantis City, on the neighboring Earth-2. It used to be ruins, but my mother helped revive it and the planet so now it flies to avoid environmental damage."

 

"Heroditus, speaking of air, I should warn that it blunts and warps our speech, so one must fairly shout to be heard. Nurse Aretha Joy and Professor Kuzin are who I would see about such voice training."

 

He paused, rubbing his chin "I beg pardon, but did you mention which building you were assigned?"

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

"No, it ain't," said Lulu with a sigh, her hands on her hips. "Judy's a hopeless romantic who just wants a normal life; Leroy's a low-down polecat who spent his summer in Agrabah staring at pretty girls, only now he feels bad, so he pulled the corniest trick in the book out of his ass because he knew she'd say 'yes'. Ashley, who's actually got some sense, is none too pleased."

 

The redheaded telepath covered her face with her hand and shook her head; poor Judy! She couldn't even bring herself to hate Leroy; he was just following the bizzare social norms he grew up with on his strange world. But then a comment from Pan snapped her back to attention.

 

"He'll do no such thing! Ah'm seventeen years old, Pan; ah don't know s### about s###! He'll, last thing in the world ah want right now is to be married!" Then she reached over to rub Adam's arm affectionately. "No offense, darlin'; just ain't the time nor place."

 

She then grew thoughtful as she looked towards the entrance to the dorms. "Hon, do you mind if ah 'step out' for a spell? Ah jus' want to make sure that sweet boy Nick is settlin' in okay. Won't take long."

 

Holding on to Adam's arm for stability, she sent her senses out in search of the quiet lad, and shortly found him in his room with Claude (ick!). Not wanting to pry, she quickly switched to telepathy to give the boys a bit more privacy.

 

- Hi Nick, it's Lulu. I don't have an accent in my mind, for some reason; weird, huh? I just wanted to make sure you found your room okay, and see if you had any questions. -

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow -- Interior Dorms

 

Davyd caught Ben's gear, then watched as he parkour'd his way over and around to Ashley & Judy.  "Woof, guy doesn't know what he's in for."  He'd not interacted with either girl very much, and what he'd seen of Ashley's temper and personality had made him decide to keep a respectable distance from both of them.  Given who Judy's been dating, though, I can certainly understand why Ashley is the way she is.

 

Davyd's mother got her husband and brother-in-law back on task for moving her son's belongings in, leaving her son & mother in the hallway.  Davyd was surprised to see the girls' reactions to Ben, and he started to move towards him, but he felt a hand on his arm hold him back.

 

"<He seems like a nice boy,>" his grandmother began, in Ukrainian, "<wanting to help those girls.  Something -- or someone -- is tearing at that one's heart>," he nodded towards Judy, "<and she'll need all the friends she can get.  Maybe someone just to listen. You've always been a good listener.>"

 

"Yes, babusya," he muttered.  He knew she was right, that it was the right thing to do... but Ashley could be so intimidating!

 

"<Come one, now, there's still lots to move.>"

 

He set Ben's device down on his bed, then continued moving his belongings in.

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer -- Outside

 

"Ah, yes, I see what you mean about the air."  He cleared his throat, "is this better?  So that- oh, yes, my dorm."  He gave his assigned dorm & room number, "I saw many such conveyances during my walk over here.  Do the elemental spirits within all of those act as guides, or is your Dio a more... advanced model?"  He took a few steps towards it, "yes, must be, I can see much more magical energy here than I did with the others.  I do like the form of this one.  I saw some that were sleeker, more streamlined, and others that were much boxier, this seems a nice compromise.  Color's good, too, very conductive to growth and nurturing."  Something else Leroy had said finally broke through his focus on the not!car, and he turned sharply (stumbling a bit) to face the young prince, "wait, wait, did you say you're from another Earth?  And that your Atlantis flies?!"

[Dariusprime]

The young man from Iowa slumped limply on top of his amplifier. The battered blue-and-white guitar sat across his lap, and he slowly ran his fingers along the strings. The motion was rhythmic and judging from Claude's data catalog, a soothing mechanism to stave off a full-blown panic attack. Fortunately, his breathing and heart rate both looked to be dropping.

 

Nick loathed being like this. Keeping himself quiet, managing his 'sensory inputs', navigating the school, and dealing with new people had been too much. To his Midwestern mindset, you accepted problems and dealt with them. This was needless stress and self-pity. He wondered what he could possibly do to manage. To top it off, he felt rude for running off. They were his future classmates. Maybe they could use his help. He knew one did.

 

Ben's music snapping off brought Nick back to reality. The volume had bothered him, yes, but he'd also half-consciously been analyzing and appreciating the music. The speaker brand he couldn't pick out yet, but they were quite good, and the syncing with the smartwatch and phone were nice touches. Likely a very techie guy that one, and one he'd like to meet.

 

Several deep breaths steeled him for another trip outside. Maybe even introduce himself to the group. With all the background chatter in his head, he almost missed Lulu's telepathic message. Which meant the initial response Lulu received was a riot of images and sounds pulled from nearby radio and television sources. The synesthesia lasted only a second or two before Nick pushed the Cacophony into the background. In the real world, he was still and looking around the room blankly.

 

Uh, hi, Lulu. Yeah, you sound different, came Nick's mental whisper. A background static hiss was noticeable, and for a moment he broadcasted a comparison of Lulu's real and mental voice, complete with graphs. Sorry. I kind of automatically quantify and analyze sounds. Oh, yes, I found my room, thanks. This feels so weird, like I'm thinking to myself. Sorry, didn't mean to imply you or your powers are weird. Sorry. So...yeah...questions. Is...is this sort of the normal around here? Worry permeated the question. 

[Heritage]

Lulu laughed, which came through a bit like a mixture of wind chimes and a gurgling stream.

 

- The drama? I'm afraid so. If anything, it's a bit heightened due to all our powers! -

 

Though there was no accompanying sound, Nick had the distinct impression that the telepath 'pulled up a chair'; the contact seemed closer and more friendly.

 

- So I'm guessing your powers have something to do with sound. Is that why you can't talk, because your control needs work?-

 

There was a pause, and suddenly Lulu's cheerful demeanor evaporated as a cold, dark chill seeped into the invisible space between them.

 

- My telepathy kicked in when I was ten years old. I thought I was going crazy; all those voices saying all those horrible things...-

Edited September 17, 2019 by Heritage

[KnightDisciple]

Micah had moved quickly when leaving the scene. He heard more shouting, but he ignored it. Judy had made her choice.

 

'What are you so mad about, Roebuck? You barely talked to the girl last year. You're not on the same team and you only hung out a few...okay more than a few, but that's not the point. You did nothing, nothing happened. Leroy's a take-charge-er. I'm sure they'll be happy.'

 

He even only kind of sounded bitter in his own head. Lulu probably caught a few whiffs of it just from the intensity of his emotions. He slowed down when he entered the actual dorm hall; it took most of his willpower to suppress a sigh at how busy the hall was. Instead, he used the agility he'd been developing the last year to slip around people with quiet "excuse me" and other apologies, before slipping into his dorm room.

 

He stepped out just a couple of minutes later, gripping his guitar case in hand...and just in time to see Ashley and Judy stepping into the elevator. Perhaps the girls saw him, perhaps they didn't. Didn't matter to Micah. He just turned around and headed for the stairs, intending to get away from everyone...

[Ari]

"Yes! Much more audible, well done Heroditus!" Leroy had begun leading the way to Rita Kord at once, hoisting his luggage onto his head, beaming proudly at the Atlantean. "And, yes, from another Earth. There are so many shepherded to our universe they begin to challenge the stars in our Sky, and still there are countless more."

 

"Many other cities on the sea have been built, the one on Earth-2 suffered a cataclysmic earthquake that shattered the islands and the Atlantis resting upon them. Due to outside factors, the survivors were the only humans alive on the planet before my mother arrived." He flicked the dormitory door open, ushering Heroditus inside. Heading up the stairs, his robes swirling, Leroy's face brightened "With aid from their magic and the dragons she awoke, the ruins were carved off of the planet and set in the air. Now it glimmers with dark crystal, orichalcum and eternal rivers, the old city a playground at its heart, humans and aliens and magical creatures of other realms living in peace in the heavens!"

 

Coming to the landing, the otherworldly prince looked curiously at Artificer. "Do you have animal friends, Heroditus?"

[RocketLord]

Outside...

 

Pan let out a laugh as Lulu's outburst, grinning somewhat apologetically to Adam. As Lulu decided to step out for a bit and leave herself in Adam's arms, Pan couldn't help but playfully nudge Adam's shoulder with his knuckles, grinning widely. "Sorry to break your heart there, my friend! I guess you will have to wait with any grand gestures until after graduation, after all!" Oh, of course he wasn't being serious in the least, but he couldn't help it. As much as he tried to be everyone's friend here, he heartily agreed with Lulu, about both Judy being a romantic, and Leroy just now feeling bad. He liked them both, they were his friends, but there were some more fitting ways to apologize for an absence, were there not? Not that Pan hadn't learned that from experience...

 

But wait! "Micah!" He had completely forgotten in all the commotion. "I will check on him! Later Adam, give Lulu my regards!" Flying off, he left little but a trail of Pixie Dust behind as he flew to find his roommate.

 

Inside...

 

And find him he did, walking the stairs alone, guitar case in hand! "Micah!" Pan was already over him, quickly throwing an arm around his roommate's shoulder and pulling him close. "Do not worry about Leroy, my friend. His mouth is usually quicker than his mind, not that either has much to say when it comes to speed!" Not quite true, maybe, but he felt that Micah could use the support.

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer -- Entering Dorms

 

"You... but... what.... how?"  Heroditus had barely been on the Surface for a few hours, and his mind was already reeling with questions.  He followed Leroy, "how did you get here?  Are there others from your world here?  People from other realms here?  The survivors of your Atlantis' Sinking were the only survivors on your world?  We'd thought that was the case, but eventually realized differently, but that's how it truly was on your world?  And your mother arrived from... where?  From yet another realm?  How did she raise your Atlantis?  Wait, dragons?  Dragons?!  Wha... bu.... how?!"

 

He stopped in the stairwell, staring off into the distance, trying to wrap his mind around it all.  Leroy's next question barely registered, but register it did.  "Uh, yes, a marbled electric ray.  Marmo.  He's back home.  So," he turned to face Leroy, "dragons.  Your mother, your Atlantis, has dragons.  Hrm.  Do you have a dragon?"

[Dariusprime]

Room 102, Kord Dorms

 

Nick leaned forward on his guitar and nodded to no one. An unfocused gaze fell on the floor.

 

When Lulu didn't continue, Nick waited politely until the silence became awkward, and creeping anxiety began trickling through the connection. After all this was a new experience for him, and he really didn't have a filter so to speak. Finally, he thought, and broadcast by accident, that maybe answering her question would put her at ease. She was kind enough to volunteer the information after all.

 

Sounds, electromagnetic radiation, things that don't make sense. If it's a wave, particle, or something in between, I hear them. All the time... But...yeah...my powers revolve around sound. The things I hear...they're translated, amplified, no one is sure yet...into destructive things when I speak. He hesitated, then continued. My powers kicked in a few months ago. I destroyed an area bigger than this campus. So I can't talk. I'd...probably bring down the building if I screamed. I don't know if I have much control to learn. A sense of relief tinged the words, at being able to talk to someone.

 

[Ari]

Inside-Sun Dragon

 

Leroy pulled a face "Technically. Unlike the rest of my family I have no chance of winning the loyalty of one, so Dio is joined to me only for a time. He is good company, but slyer and more irreverant than an acolyte of the Earth-Binder should be, I think. As for travel..."

 

Taking his robe by the shoulder, he swept it clean off and held its bunches and folds up for inspection. Under it, he wore neat black trousers and a halter-top sleeveless shirt. "As you see, the ridges appear separate but are joined by a shared essence. So it is with Earths on the Coil. The Lioness stumbled upon a natural link between this world, where she was born, and my home Earth-2 many years ago. Since then other means have been found, most of which I...do not fully understand." The admission was bitterly grudging. "It appears many dimensions intersect with those of the Earths, so with the proper equipment or sorcery reliable travel is possible." 

 

He tossed the robe over his shoulder "A few other students are also from other Earths. Judy Smith and her sister, Ashley are from an Earth overrun by aliens, Pan Barrie hails from the chaos of Neverland and Veronica Danger is prince of a medieval Earth called 'Fortuna'."

 

"As for my mother..." a boyish grin quirked his lips "...Heroditus, some time I must tell you about her and my sisters. Their exploits are legendary and us novice heroes could learn much from them!" His golden eyes sparkled "What about your family, if I may be so bold? They must be wonderful!"

 

Leroy leaned against the wall next to Artificer, face bright and expectant.

 

[Avenger Assembled]

Inside 

 

Judy crossed her arms and sat down in her favorite chair, looking up at Ashley like a sulking child. She is a child, thought Ashley, dammit, they both are! She closed the room and locked it, activating the room's security systems before she turned back to the rogue First Daughter. She suddenly thought of a year earlier, and how she'd wanted to see the girl find some independence. I could have handled drugs, or sex, or even - Come to think of it she couldn't really handle gay, now could she? "Well?" Judy demanded, aware she was being studied. 

 

"What were you thinking just now?" 

 

"That Ah love Leroy and Ah want to marry him," said Judy, adjusting her dress as she looked up at Ashley, her ring gleaming on her finger. "Ah'm not stupid, Ashley. Obviously we'll have to wait until we're both eighteen." 

 

"...do you really think your parents will let you do that?" asked Ashley, trying her best to keep her voice under control. She knew it was the wrong strategy when Judy's eyes flashed. 

"Ah don't have to do everything they say," said Judy flatly. "Ah spent the whole summer eating crow for Daddy's career, and the whole year before that lying to everyone so Ah wouldn't embarrass Momma. And Ah will still do that for them, because Ah made them a promise, and Ah keep mah promises." She held up her hand with the ring on it and said, "But Ah made a promise to Leroy, and he made a promise to me." 

 

Ashley paced the room like a leashed dog. "You can't...you can't possibly think that you've made the right decision here. You're only seventeen, Ashley, you have your whole life ahead of you! Neither of your parents married when they were your age." 

 

"Ah told you we will get married in a few years," said Judy firmly. "Leroy is sweet, he is a Christian, and he is willing to admit when he makes mistakes. That puts him ahead of most of the boys mah parents have wanted me to date," she added with a little shake of her head. "And he said he loves me." 

 

He's seventeen! He literally has no idea what that means! And he's from some sort of goddamned Hellhole where- Ashley took a breath, then said, "Jaycee, what happened today is going to get around the school, and it's going to get around fast. Summers is going to intervene and she is going to make sure you and Leroy don't spend a lot of time together this year." 

 

"Well. Absence makes the heart grow fonder," said Judy with a thin smile. "That's what Momma said before we left, remember?" 

[Thunder King]

Adam chuckled. "Lulu is amazing, but I'm not ready for marriage. At least not yet." He had to admit, spending his life with Lulu definitely had an appeal, but he knew that he had to be smart about things.

 

He didn't know what Leroy was thinking, but he knew what Ashley was thinking. He couldn't blame her, either. Engagement at seventeen was insane.  He had a new roommate, and he felt like he should introduce himself.

 

""I'm gonna go find my new roommate and introduce myself." He said, excusing himself politely. 

[Dr Archeville]

Horrorshow -- Interior, 2nd Floor

 

Davyd saw Forever Boy fly in and approach another student.  He didn't know the other student -- he'd seen Micah on campus a few times, but was never introduced -- but he definitely knew Pan.  He called out to his folks to let them know he was going to say take a short break to say 'hi' to someone.

 

He crept over, trying to stay out of their sight.  (He wasn't sure how well he was doing, as he knew Pan had very good senses, but the attempt was important.)  As he crept forward, his fingers lengthened and became rubbery, and his mouth widened and rows of triangular teeth popped in.  His eyes went completely black, his skin turned slate gray, and fins popped up along his forearms, back, and calves.  Once he was close enough, he hopped a short distance to land directly behind Pan and his associate, and let out a moderate roar.  "What Leroy do?  Sharktopus shall feed upon him!!!"

[Semi-Autogyro]

Claude gave Nick some space as the poor kid looked a bit overwhelmed. His current expertise in the behavioral sciences pegging him as maybe even on the verge of a panic attack, sitting there strumming on his guitar. So Claude busied himself with keeping an eye on Nick as he began unpacking, which took a grand total of five minutes. He didn't own much, and the rest of his belongings were stored elsewhere and elsewhen. 

 

Mostly it consisted of sliding the his few class books into a bookcase along with pencils and other assorted writing paraphernalia, putting about two weeks worth of clothes into the dresser, and following it up with tossing his ditty bag into the bathroom counter. He checked back on Nick, who was sitting with his head cocked like he was listening to something or someone. He also seemed calmer now. 'Maybe talkin' to the redhead telepath', the Bostonian boy guessed before idly wondering if accents were retained in mental discourse. 'Eh, I'll ask her next time I see her', he thought while making a mental note to do so. 

 

After extracting his glove and a well used metal baseball bat and placing them on an unoccupied shelf, the only thing else left to do was put a set of pictures on his desk. One of Jules and Mom, another with him sitting on his dad's shoulders from a Sox game years ago, and one with a slightly graying Germanic man looking at the photo taker with an expression of fond exasperation. 

 

Huh, Nicky boy still was communing with the belle of the brain so Claude decided to wander the campus to get the lay of the land. Maybe even find more drama or another fight. Probably equal chances of both. Whenever he got back his new roomie would be finished with his chat, and it would be his turn for blowing the poor kids mind. 

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Semi-Autogyro

[KnightDisciple]

7 hours ago, RocketLord said:

Outside...

 

Pan let out a laugh as Lulu's outburst, grinning somewhat apologetically to Adam. As Lulu decided to step out for a bit and leave herself in Adam's arms, Pan couldn't help but playfully nudge Adam's shoulder with his knuckles, grinning widely. "Sorry to break your heart there, my friend! I guess you will have to wait with any grand gestures until after graduation, after all!" Oh, of course he wasn't being serious in the least, but he couldn't help it. As much as he tried to be everyone's friend here, he heartily agreed with Lulu, about both Judy being a romantic, and Leroy just now feeling bad. He liked them both, they were his friends, but there were some more fitting ways to apologize for an absence, were there not? Not that Pan hadn't learned that from experience...

 

But wait! "Micah!" He had completely forgotten in all the commotion. "I will check on him! Later Adam, give Lulu my regards!" Flying off, he left little but a trail of Pixie Dust behind as he flew to find his roommate.

 

Inside...

 

And find him he did, walking the stairs alone, guitar case in hand! "Micah!" Pan was already over him, quickly throwing an arm around his roommate's shoulder and pulling him close. "Do not worry about Leroy, my friend. His mouth is usually quicker than his mind, not that either has much to say when it comes to speed!" Not quite true, maybe, but he felt that Micah could use the support.

 

Micah was just a few feet from the stairway door when Pan came up to him. He almost fought it, but eventually he smiled just a bit at Pan's words. His flight-loving roommate probably saw the young man's eyes mist up just slightly

 

"You're a good friend, Pan. Have I told you that? I'll be fine, he just pushed some old but-"

 

15 minutes ago, Dr Archeville said:

Horrorshow -- Interior, 2nd Floor

 

Davyd saw Forever Boy fly in and approach another student.  He didn't know the other student -- he'd seen Micah on campus a few times, but was never introduced -- but he definitely knew Pan.  He called out to his folks to let them know he was going to say take a short break to say 'hi' to someone.

 

He crept over, trying to stay out of their sight.  (He wasn't sure how well he was doing, as he knew Pan had very good senses, but the attempt was important.)  As he crept forward, his fingers lengthened and became rubbery, and his mouth widened and rows of triangular teeth popped in.  His eyes went completely black, his skin turned slate gray, and fins popped up along his forearms, back, and calves.  Once he was close enough, he hopped a short distance to land directly behind Pan and his associate, and let out a moderate roar.  "What Leroy do?  Sharktopus shall feed upon him!!!"

 

Micah jumped 4 feet into the air, stayed there, and turned with an honestly high-pitched shout-shriek. His free hand thrust out, and for a moment freezing-cold winds struck against Davyd's skin. After perhaps 10 seconds, Micah stopped, lowering to the ground and breathing hard, his eyes wide.

 

"Uh...sorry about that. I. Um. I don't startle well. My bad. I'm, uh Micah."

 

He extended his hand. It definitely wasn't still shaking. 

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer -- Interior, 1st Floor

 

Heroditus did a double-take, "wait, Dio, the spirit in your Vee-Double-You Bug, is a dragon?!  And is an acolyte of Ghorhummaz?!"  The Dragon Within The Earth was known to Heroditus, from legends alternately casting him as an ally to or rival against Poseidon.  "Do you also revere the Lord of Storms?  Does your mother?  Is that how she accomplished her Atlantis-levitating feats?"  It seemed perfectly logical, if unusual: if the Atlanteans of Leroy's world had a closer relationship with various mystic entities that the ones of his Atlantis, such feats could be done, but at what cost?

 

"Ah, so your mother was from this world, and found a way there by accident.  That fits with my understanding of dimensional breaches," he nodded, "very difficult to create intentionally,  but also naturally occurring in the most unexpected places.  I should like very much to hear about these, and about your Atlantis, and the worlds those others students you've mentioned come from.  Truly, I had expected great variety here, but not such a... a wide variety!"

 

"As for my family," now it was time for Heroditus to puff up a bit, and became more animated as he spoke, "the Stylianos clan has long served a vital role in Atlantis, recovering and maintaining the technomagical devices lost or damaged during the Sinking.  From mighty noble to humblest farmer, we help all, seeking to regain the glory Atlantis once held.  But I," he glanced aside conspiratorially, "I desire something more!  Not just to maintain, but to create, and innovate -- to see how Surface World technology and magic can be incorporated into Atlantis, to make it better than it once was!"

[Amelia]

Octoman

 

Quote

Judy smelled distinctly odd to the amazing octopod - she didn't really smell like anything! Oh there was perfume, perhaps, and whatever soap she used in that long black hair, but there was no smell of her last meal, no smell of sweat, no smell of anything.

 

Oh HEY, she's a ROBOT. I won't tell anyone. Except her. I should tell her about how I'm not gonna tell anyone.

 

Quote

Once she'd gotten over the instinctual urge to shoot him in the face, Ashley shot Ben a faint but distinct smirk. She hit the button for the building's elevator without doing more than giving the other student a grunt of acknowledgement.

 

"Everything is just fine," lied Judy in a firm whisper as she made eye contact with Ben. "A pleasure to meet you," she added, another lie not because she didn't like Ben but because her heart was breaking. "Ah'm Judy, this is Ashley." As the elevator doors opened, she smiled in a way that didn't reach her eyes at all and said, "We'll talk later."

 

Ben shrugged, both with his arms and with two pairs of tentacles. "Cool." He pointed a thumb at his own chest. "If ya got nicknames, make 'em good. Otherwise, it's 'Ben'." Then he pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Two-thirteen, with Dayv. Knock REAL loud."

 

After the elevator doors closed, Ben mumbled to himself as he doubled back to his discarded belongings sitting in the middle of the hallway. "Fine MY ASS..ya don't LOOK fine...well, ya DO look fine, HELLA fine, BOTH of ya, but not, like, FINE-fine..." He hefted the stack of plastic crates into the dorm room he'd be sharing with Dayv and started unpacking. He didn't finish unpacking, since he started with his Geckoman posters and his computers, and once he started messing with those they consumed his attention. The toiletries, the framed family pictures his parents "suggested" he take with him, the clothes his shapeshifting powers rendered obsolete but that he kept for show, those remained sitting in the crates in the middle of the dorm room floor. After liberal application of putty, all three 24" by 36" GECKOMAN posters (one portrait, two landscape) adorned the two walls at the corner of the room with the bed he'd randomly chosen as his. The mechanical keyboard and three enormous monitors for his desktop computer dominated his desk. The tower, with its bright green case, was almost as tall as the desk itself, just barely fitting in the space underneath on the floor. A separate laptop computer sat on his bed while he hooked everything up.

 

When the desktop computer flared to life, the dorm room erupted into a cacophony of light and noise. The tower's many, many cooling fans filled the tiny space with the dull roar of a jet engine. The tower, the keyboard, the mouse, every piece of hardware, every peripheral, was embedded with multicolored LEDs, making the room look like a rave had been frozen in time, like a bug trapped in amber. "BOOM! We are in BUSINESS!"

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Grumblefloof

[angrydurf]

Kam heard Leroy before he saw him.  Which was probably the norm for most of the residents of this earth.  He stepped out of their room as the boys came down the hall, "Veronica's local."  he corrected politely, "Janus is a from Fortuna, Technically, THEY, are a prince of Fortune."  he gracefully placed the emphasis on the Dangers preferred pronouns.  Perhaps too subtly.  "But they don't use the title so..."  He shrugged feeling he'd let the new student know enough not to accidentally stick his foot in his mouth with the Dangers.

 

He offered a hand to Heroditus, "Kameron Kingdom"  he introduced the athletic africans handshake was firm enough to indicate both his above average strength and the careful control he had of it.  "I go by Kam among friends."  he smiled wide clearly already including the atlantean in that number.  "Leroy you're back, I was worried I'd have to convince a new roommate not to report my curfew violations."  He indicated the room they were sharing this year where the Dakanans possessions were already neatly put away as he'd technically spent the summer at claremont, when not trotting the globe with the Dangers at least.  "You uh run into Judy yet?"  he asked uncertainly, last he'd seen the Smith sisters had been less than pleased with his absence, "Word of warning I think you should have sent a postcard."

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

Suddenly, there was a great monster upon them! A shark! An octopus! Both! A sharktopus! Pan let out a laugh as he spun around to face the dread monster! "Brilliant! You managed it!" Oh yes, the dread sharktopus! Quicky moving over between the two, Pan gestured to Davyd, pointing and laughing. "Micah! This is Davyd! He is absolutely brilliant! He can become anything, it seems! Even the dread sharktopus!" 

 

Moving slightly to the side, he started gesturing to Micah. "And Davyd, my friend, this is Micah, the Thunderbird! A great friend, and my roommate!" He quickly reached forward, brushing some frost from Davyd's side. "You have improved, Micah! Much more localized effects now, no?"