The New Batch (IC)

[Cyroa]

The taxi pulled up outside the school gates and a young man exits, dragging with him a rather small duffel bag. In his mid to upper teens, he's a handsome young man but nothing too exceptional to look at really. Dressed in plain tan slacks and long sleeved button shirt, the clothes are obviously fairly new or have been pressed recently; the pants have fresh crease lines in them. He looks pretty neat and tidy really as he pays the driver and lifts the bag. His curious gaze sweeps over the area as he starts walking.

He pulls a sheaf of papers from his bag, holding them in his other hand without glancing at them. He turns and heads for the administration building, despite never having been here before as his eyes continue to observer the area with a deep curiosity.

[Godiva]

Another new student was looking for admission today also. Caresse had to park her motorcycle in visitor parking, but she was headed to the same place the other guy was: the front gate. "Albright said my stuff would be in my room," she mumbled while looking at a map, "all I have to do is sign in." She chuckled and spoke up, still talking to herself, "Huh, like a hotel." When she reached the front gate she saw a guy with a duffel bag waiting to get in. Quickening her pace she goes to meet him. When she did meet up with him, she kept her distance, about three feet away. She was close enough to be amiable, but with no weird accidents. "Hello," she said cheerfully, "are you new here too? Or maybe I can ask you for some help finding my way around here. Or both!"

[Cyroa]

Cole's surveying glance catching the young woman approaching; he noted her rather strong and athletic build with a curious glance. He stopped at her approach and nods his head to her. "Good morning. Yes, I am new here. I only just arrived moments ago," he says with a pleasant smile, nodding his head down the road at the retreating taxi. He noted the distance she kept between them and ran through a huge possible list of reason in his head as to why. The most logical, and likely given where they were, was some kind of power issue. That conclusion reached, he lowered the hand he had half raised in the traditional greeting.

"While I have never been here, I'm fairly certain I can help you with directions. I memorized the faculty and layout of the school on the way over." He paused suddenly. "I apologize. I'm being rude. I'm Cole," he said, nodding formally to her once more. "Cole, uh, Jefferson," he added a bit lamely on the end as an after thought.

[Godiva]

Caresse was glad the Cole was observant of her personal space. "Pleased to me you, Cole Jefferson," the girl said with a polite curtsy, "my name is Caresse Brown." She stood back up quickly, "You can call me Caresse." She thought for a second, and then smirked with a hint of hidden excitement, "Or Lotus. I hear you have to have a code name in these parts." She shrugged, "At least it sounds cool." She looked at her map again and then back to Cole, "The administration office should be obvious. Though I bet the dorms are a maze. "

[Cyroa]

Cole nodded to her, still smiling pleasantly. "Nice to meet you Caresse. I believe it is partially to maintain a certain level of secrecy," he said with a slight shrug of one shoulder. "Though...yes, there is the 'cool' factor as well," he added with a small smile and chuckle. "I chose 'Torque' for mine," he added as an aside.

He nodded to her. "I believe the Headmaster's office is right off the main admin office. Ground floor. Room 1001," he said, nodding to the administration building. "I was told I need to sign in there and fill out a few forms or some such I could not do online. Get my room assignment, stuff like that. You?" He began walking that way. "The map of the dorms is not that complicated really. I doubt it will take you long to get acclimated, he added confidently.

[Azuth65]

Victoria finished up the drawing she'd been working on under the tree by the administration office's front door. Looking up from a sketch of a man in what looked like winged power armor she noticed the pair of new students. After hurriedly packing up her supplies and slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder she walked over to the newbies. "The dorms aren't too bad, the class rooms however can be pretty bad," she smiled. "Welcome to Claremont guys, my name's Victoria." To the girl holding the motorcycle helmet she nodded, "You must be Caresse. Your dorm's next door to mine." To the young man she shrugged, "Sorry dude, I didn't hear anything from my friends on the boy's floor, no idea which room's yours."

[Cyroa]

As they walked another woman approached them. He stared for a microsecond, taking in the white hair and red eyes. A fascinating combination and certainly not normal. He'd seen picture on line and such while in the facility but this was the first person who looked even a little different (though from what he was told there should be some rather extreme differences among some of the students; fascinating). He couldn't but note the curves and figures of the two ladies. They might not have the beautify of supermodels but he definitely noticed the curves and figures on both. He was supposed to be intellectual and logical and all that...but he was still a teenager. Luckily, his mind could work fast enough to appreciate their forms and still respond without stumbling over himself or sounding like a dolt. That would have been embarrassing!

"Thanks for the welcome Victoria. Pleased to meet you. I'm Cole. Are you the 'welcoming committee'? I was not entirely sure as to what to expect honestly," he said with a slight frown. He quickly moved on though. "I wouldn't expect you too actually. I'm a rather recent transfer. I was just recently, uh, transferred out." He looked at her curiously. "You mentioned your friends. Are there many students here over the summer?"

[Azuth65]

Vicky noticed the glances she was getting from Cole and had to hide a blush. She still wasn't used to getting appreciative glances from people. She adjusted the bag's strap across her 'I Roll 20s' shirt when he spoke.

"I'm not an official member but I've got some free time and Professor Summers did ask me to play tour guide," she said. "As for my friends, more than a few, a lot of us aren't local and it's just easier for us to stay at the school for the three months. For example, my boyfriend's from Boston and his roommate's from Little Rock while I'm from Chicago. None of us find the option of going home for the break high on the priority list."

[Quinn]

"That, and when we tried visiting my home, we ended up in Tian fighting in an otherworldly tournament. So we came back here for a vacation from that vacation."

A voice came from above them, one very familiar to Wisp indeed. Looking up in the branches of the tree they were passing under, they saw a figure hanging by his ankle from one of the upper branches; his arms crossed across his chest and in the sleeves of a long black coat, the rest of the aforementioned coat dangling underneath him like a banner. Intricate rune designs covered the whole thing, one giving off a tiny trail of smoke that petered out a few seconds later.

"Welcome to Claremont. Name's Morgan Crowe, nice to meetcha."

His tone was light and conversational, and he even gave a little upside-down wave at the newcomers.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John was walking back to his dorm room with his gym bag slung over his shoulder when he spotted Victoria talking with a pair of people he had not seen around Claremont. Must be some new students, he surmised, giving the pair a quick mental assessment. As he approached the group he heard Morgans' voice from overhead, coming from the direction of a familiar tree.

He stopped a few feet to the side of Victoria, gazing upwards at the runic-coated teen. "Again, Mister Morgan? Do you need assistance in extracting yourself from your current position?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Realizing he had forgotten his manners he turned to the new people. "My apologies. I am John Smith. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and as Mister Morgan has stated, welcome to Claremont Academy."

With introductions out of the way, John again turned his attention back to Crow and summoned a discus into his left hand. "Mister Morgan, would you kindly remain stationary?" He said as he took careful aim at the entrapped appendage.

[Azuth65]

Tucking a loose strand of hair away from her face Vicky peered up and let out a chuckle at her boyfriend hanging from the tree. Hearing John begin speaking she started a bit, "Damn you're quiet... Somebody should put a bell on you." When she noticed the chakram he held she put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, wait. No need to risk the grounds keeper's wrath. I'll have him down in a second."

In a puff of crimson and snowy smoke, Vicky was gone, reappearing in a similar cloud in the tree. She hung upside down as well, though she remained only long enough to reach out, grab Morgan's hand and teleport the both of them back to the ground. "So glad I didn't listen to Janis' suggestion of wearing the skirt today," she muttered brushing some bark off her jeans.

[Semi-Autogyro]

It was a testament to his time at Claremont that his first reaction to Victoria touching him on the shoulder was not instantly viewed as an attack. Instead he simply nodded, letting go of the discus as it faded into motes of quintessence. "Ah. That is indeed more efficient. My apologies for startling you as well, Miss Victoria. That was not my intention." He said to her as she extricated the ensnared Morgan from the tree and re-appeared on the ground.

He adjusted his gym bag, and seemed to then remember something, digging around in it. "I almost forgot. Here are your DVDs back Miss Victoria." He said handing her a few cases. "As for your question the other day, I do not believe I can fully replicate the effects of a lightsaber." He zipped his bag up again. "But I will continue to experiment."

[Godiva]

"Toque sounds cool," Caresse smirked as she and Cole walked towards administration, "so do you work with cars? I know some people choose their name for symbolism. Others for the sake of simplicity and having a secret identity. Lotus has nothing to do with my powers. I'm a," before she could finish her sentence another person walked up. A female with wed eyes and white hair, and apparently her name was Victoria. Though she probably had another name. "Nice to meet you, Victoria," she smiled and nodded while lightly stepping back a good three feet distance she happened to keep. "So how does this dorm room thing work? Do we all get our own room? Do we share?" Caresse was polite and quite as Cole spoke, not wanting to bombard Victoria with questions. And then another person came! There was a lot here for a school that let out for the summer. Maybe summer school students? People without places to stay? She definitely would fit into the latter category. And again, she adjusted her position to not be close to the new guy. Wow, this guy looks pretty built, she thought, wonder if it's a power thing. I've seen a lot of built people because of powers. Heh, I can hope it workout. I can also hope he's not reading my mind. She smiled and nodded as he greeted them all. And then another student came. Wow, this has to be the luckiest day to come, she thought, so many helpful people. She kept quiet and stepped back to a comfortable position again. Holy hell, they do grow them big and strong here, she chuckled at the thought, must be something in the water. She noticed she had bee quiet for the last two visitors. "Oh hi, My name is Caresse, or Lotus, if you wish," she dipped a polite curtsy.

[Cyroa]

Vicky noticed the glances she was getting from Cole and had to hide a blush. She still wasn't used to getting appreciative glances from people. She adjusted the bag's strap across her 'I Roll 20s' shirt when he spoke.

"I'm not an official member but I've got some free time and Professor Summers did ask me to play tour guide," she said. "As for my friends, more than a few, a lot of us aren't local and it's just easier for us to stay at the school for the three months. For example, my boyfriend's from Boston and his roommate's from Little Rock while I'm from Chicago. None of us find the option of going home for the break high on the priority list."

Cole nodded in understanding. “So by choosing to stay here for the summer, do you take on jobs such as this to help defray the costs? I suppose I will need to find employment of some kind as I will be here for the summers until emancipated. I admit I’m still trying to get a handle on some of this. I will adapt, I'm certain.â€

"That, and when we tried visiting my home, we ended up in Tian fighting in an otherworldly tournament. So we came back here for a vacation from that vacation."

A voice came from above them, one very familiar to Wisp indeed. Looking up in the branches of the tree they were passing under, they saw a figure hanging by his ankle from one of the upper branches; his arms crossed across his chest and in the sleeves of a long black coat, the rest of the aforementioned coat dangling underneath him like a banner. Intricate rune designs covered the whole thing, one giving off a tiny trail of smoke that petered out a few seconds later.

"Welcome to Claremont. Name's Morgan Crowe, nice to meetcha."

His tone was light and conversational, and he even gave a little upside-down wave at the newcomers.

John was walking back to his dorm room with his gym bag slung over his shoulder when he spotted Victoria talking with a pair of people he had not seen around Claremont. Must be some new students, he surmised, giving the pair a quick mental assessment. As he approached the group he heard Morgans' voice from overhead, coming from the direction of a familiar tree.

He stopped a few feet to the side of Victoria, gazing upwards at the runic-coated teen. "Again, Mister Morgan? Do you need assistance in extracting yourself from your current position?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Realizing he had forgotten his manners he turned to the new people. "My apologies. I am John Smith. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, and as Mister Morgan has stated, welcome to Claremont Academy."

With introductions out of the way, John again turned his attention back to Crow and summoned a discus into his left hand. "Mister Morgan, would you kindly remain stationary?" He said as he took careful aim at the entrapped appendage.

Cole looked up, quirking an eyebrow at the stranded youth before returning to ground level as another student walked up to greet them. And from this John Smith’s words, this was not the first time Morgan had gotten stuck. Cole idly wondered why someone who got stuck so often continued with the same action. He would have assumed the boy would try new options. Giving a mental shrug, he actually focused more on John’s creation of a throwing disk.

“Thanks for the greeting and nice to meet you both,†he said in response, giving them both a cordial nod and smile. “I’m Cole.â€

Tucking a loose strand of hair away from her face Vicky peered up and let out a chuckle at her boyfriend hanging from the tree. Hearing John begin speaking she started a bit, "Damn you're quiet... Somebody should put a bell on you." When she noticed the chakram he held she put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, wait. No need to risk the grounds keeper's wrath. I'll have him down in a second."

In a puff of crimson and snowy smoke, Vicky was gone, reappearing in a similar cloud in the tree. She hung upside down as well, though she remained only long enough to reach out, grab Morgan's hand and teleport the both of them back to the ground. "So glad I didn't listen to Janis' suggestion of wearing the skirt today," she muttered brushing some bark off her jeans.

Cole quirked his eyebrow yet again. “I was not aware the groundskeeper here was a wrathful individual. Duly noted,†he said with a nod. He knew who the staff were of course, given his reading material. But it had not come with any documentation or revelations about personalities.

It was a testament to his time at Claremont that his first reaction to Victoria touching him on the shoulder was not instantly viewed as an attack. Instead he simply nodded, letting go of the discus as it faded into motes of quintessence. "Ah. That is indeed more efficient. My apologies for startling you as well, Miss Victoria. That was not my intention." He said to her as she extricated the ensnared Morgan from the tree and re-appeared on the ground.

He adjusted his gym bag, and seemed to then remember something, digging around in it. "I almost forgot. Here are your DVDs back Miss Victoria." He said handing her a few cases. "As for your question the other day, I do not believe I can fully replicate the effects of a lightsaber." He zipped his bag up again. "But I will continue to experiment."

He looked at the others curiously. “Given your rather flagrant use of powers, can I assume the admonishment I received about not sharing or displaying any abilities or technologies was a bit excessive? It seems that while on school grounds, such rules are…lax in their enforcement?â€

His eyes looked curiously on as John ‘dismissed’ his throwing disk before looking back up to the conversation. “Hmm, lightsaber? Oh yes. A prop in a movie by a Mr. Lucas. I did see quite a few references to those films on the Net and even watched some for research,†he said, nodding. “Actually a lightsaber is rather doable really. The tricky part I would think is coming up with a modulating field containing the plasma inside but allowing all others to pass through the field without disrupting it. That might take me a couple hours to figure out,†he said with a shrug.

He turned back to Caresse to address her question. “Torque was actually suggested to me due to the technical nature of what I can do. Though, yes, I did do some very rough designs for a few different vehicle, cars and motorcycles among them. The plans were confiscated,†he added with a small frown. “No matter. They are easily replicated. Perhaps once I have some time and materials, I will see about implementing them,†he said with a shrug of one shoulder.

[Quinn]

Crow landed quite nicely after being teleported, having become somewhat accustomed to it. Still, it did make him a bit queasier than when he used his own, but telling that to Vicky would have been very rude indeed. He took a quick look over the new students, taking a few seconds longer on Lotus before mentally kicking himself.

"Eh, the groundskeeper's gotten used to finding me in strange places; you'd be surprised where you can end up testing new teleportation runes. Hey John."

The teen gave a stretch before throwing an arm over Wisp's shoulders, and gave a somewhat pointed look at Cole. After a second, he switched the expression to a way more amiable one, and stuck out a hand to shake, grinning.

"Hee. If we're swapping codenames, call me Crow. Reason for that's pretty self-explanatory."

[Azuth65]

Vicky stowed the cases into her bag, "Oh well. Any luck with the Portal Gun or the video game based weapons I showed you clips of? And I'm telling you, next time we deal with those ninjas, you need to make with that tacticle flintlock I showed you. A more pirately weapon I've never seen, thus perfect for fighting ninjas."

"Well, it's more the don't go advertising your powers in the school uniform outside or even near the walls," Vicky explained. At Cole's casual discussion of actually making working sci-fi weapons, Vicky's eyes got an almost predatory gleam, "Nice." Then he mentioned working on cars and motorcycles which left her picturing a flying McLaren F1, a car her father had used his connections to get into the country.

Vicky noticed her boyfriend's eyes linger on the motorcycle geared student, not that she could blame him. The girl was very pretty after all. "Well juniors and seniors have the option of their own room. I haven't had a chance to talk with Janis about our rooming for the fall term yet, so, thanks for the reminder," she said.

[Godiva]

Caresse nodded politely and listened to Torque's explanation of his name. "Yeah, people named Torque are bikers or mechanics, sometimes both!" She chuckled with a friendly wink, "After all that technology talk, I think Torque fits you well." A couple, she thought with a happy light sigh as they embraced, how nice of them to be so protective of each other. Maybe it was the area around her that she felt so well, but she did notice Crow checking her out. She nodded to him ever so slightly. Maybe they aren't a couple? Then Victoria started talking about video game weapons, Caresse smiled. "Well with what Torque was talking about earlier, I'm sure anything is possible." She looked to him with a jesting smile, "Hm, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

[Cyroa]

Cole quirked an eyebrow at Crow's look and matched the stare without blinking. He supposed the boy could be far more dangerous than he appeared but Cole wasn't overly impressed. His girlfriend already spoke up once indicating her social status. Cole had no intention of pursuing anything. Heck, he'd just gotten here like 10 minutes ago, not to mention he wasn't exactly a social dynamo. I really need to do some more research on this social dynamic thing. No one mentioned any of this at the Facility, he thought to himself.

Crow just seemed a bit angrily possessive which wasn't exactly a plus in his favor. Still the boy stuck his hand out, it showed some potential beyond 'possessive thug' really. Cole reached out and returned the handshake. "Nice to meet you," he replied with a half smile and a nod. Of course, the odd gleam in Vicky's eyes was rather confusing as well. Hopefully it had to do with her obsession for shiny technology.

He nodded to Caresse with a grin. "Oh, I agree. Anything certainly is possible, or so I'd like to believe. It certainly makes life a lot more fun," he said nodding happily. "Technologically speaking or otherwise, anything is possible. I speak from experience there, at least in some ways," he added as an afterthought.

[Semi-Autogyro]

"I am referred to as Myrmidon in the field," John said as he then an addendum to Vicky's explanation of power usage. "Blatant displays are also frowned upon. But pretty much it is a common sense issue, as Miss Victoria has pointed out."

Hmm, lightsaber? Oh yes. A prop in a movie by a Mr. Lucas. I did see quite a few references to those films on the Net and even watched some for research,†he said, nodding. “Actually a lightsaber is rather doable really. The tricky part I would think is coming up with a modulating field containing the plasma inside but allowing all others to pass through the field without disrupting it. That might take me a couple hours to figure out,†he said with a shrug.

John cocked his head to the side slightly at the techno-jargon about constructing a lightsaber that was thrown at him for the new arrival. "I am afraid I did not follow any of that, Mister Cole, as I was referring to the use of my abilities to create one. I do not possess much in the way of technical skills of that nature."

He sighed at the mention of the flintlock. "I would like to remind you again, Miss Victoria, why flintlocks have not been used in warfare for centuries. Adding modern accouterments would do little to improve that. Other than that, I have met with some success in duplicating other weapons. The freezethrower in particular."

John looked perplexed at the odd display of body language that his friend Morgan shot at the new arrivals, combined with being oddly protective of Miss Victoria. He pushed the odd behavior out of mind before extending his hand to shake Coles', and then gave Caresse a small bow. He had noted her distancing behavior, and did not want her to make her uncomfortable.

[Azuth65]

Vicky sighed, "John, I explained this last time. I even pulled up a copy of the game's rules to help you get in the right mentality for it. Flintlock form, high tech blaster function. Still, awesome the freezethrower works. Next time though, we need to make an event out of it. I'll organize a pot luck of snacks and junkfood. Honestly, watching some of the things you come up with is endlessly entertaining."

Extricating herself from Morgan's arm she smiled to the school's new 'recruits', "So, who's up for the tour?"

[Sovem]

"Alright, more new students! Glad I'm not the only one." A tall, well-built African-American boy jogged over to the group and stood by John. "Are you guys in summer school, too? I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Jasper." He swings out a hand to shake for the guys, and nods and grins at the ladies.

"And if we're doing the code name thing, I'm thinking about 'Lucid'. Like, dream control and stuff? Whaddya think?"

[Godiva]

Caresse looked nominally impressed when Torque talked of the possibility of impossibilities. It was all so wondrous what 'gadgeteers could do with bubble gum, a rubber band and a paperclip. "I'd love to see some of your work one day," she smiled warmly. She stifled a blush when Myrmidon bowed to her. It was quite gentlemanly of him to do. She responded in kind with a small curtsy. She hoped he didn't think she was being facetious. And then another student came. This guy seemed more forward than the others. "Dream Control, huh," Caresse questioned, "like you control what people dream?"

[Cyroa]

Cole nodded to John's additional comments on power usage. It seemed he had some adjustments to make in his actions. "I apologize; was just thinking out loud really. I have no idea how your powers work at all. You simply mentioned it and, well, I couldn't help but follow it to its, to me anyway, logical conclusion. Force of habit." He blinked. "Really? You can replicate weaponry on that scale? A man-portable cyrogenic containment projector? Very impressive. It'd take me a couple days to produce something like that, I think," he says, impressed...and misunderstanding John's words a bit. He nodded at Vicky's clarification. "I don't think you need it obviously, but if you want a high tech blaster, it is very simple to make," he offered since the 'using tech' rules seemed so relaxed here.

He looked over as yet another student quickly approached. "Cole," he said, shaking hands with the newcomer. "Dreaming as in entering another's subconscious while in REM sleep or do you mean projecting a person's dream and making them manifest somehow," he asked curiously.

He nodded to Caresse with a smile. "Of course. Anytime. Though I admit, the only device I currently possess is my suit. Everything else I built was confiscated," he said with a shrug. "Though next time I build something, presumably once we get settled, I'll let you know." He nodded to Vicky. "I know the layout already from my briefing and research but I would enjoy a tour," he said with a tilt of his head.

[Quinn]

Crow tilted his head as Vicky disentangled herself, and he bent over to pull a twig from his jeans cuff. Catching Cole's talk of powers and weapon creation, his smile turned a tad brittle for a few seconds before he masked it again.

"Everyone here's got their own abilities...well, most everyone. You should fit in just fine; just try not to blow up your dorm room experimenting."

His smile turned wry, and his expression spoke from personal experience on that score. Morgan shrugged, throwing a thumb behind him.

"So, if we're having a tour, what say we start with the cafeteria? Lunch rush should be over by now, and I'm starvin'."

[Sovem]

"Dream Control, huh," Caresse questioned, "like you control what people dream?"

"Eh, no, more like..."

He looked over as yet another student quickly approached. "Cole," he said, shaking hands with the newcomer. "Dreaming as in entering another's subconscious while in REM sleep or do you mean projecting a person's dream and making them manifest somehow," he asked curiously.

Peter claps his hands over Cole's and points at him. "Yeah, that's it. I can make my own dreams 'manifold.' Like, whatever I dream, I can bring it out here, in the real world."

Peter looks over at John. "Dude, you can create weapons? No wonder you're so touchy about using powers on campus. I just like making dreams come true. Like..." he twirls his hands in the air and a dozen roses appear in each hand. He extends them towards Wisp and Lotus, seemingly totally oblivious to Lotus' personal space or Wisp's boyfriend... not in a cocky way, though, he actually appears oblivious.