ic Double Booked (Open)

[EternalPhoenix]

Vonnie watched Casey go and shut his eyes. He took a breath. Then another. And another. Wrenching back control of his disordered and chaotic emotions. He knew what the right thing to do was. He knew it. He knew it, and would do it. He walked forward, but stopped just when he’d have gone back past Endeavour. “Arguments aren’t your thing, huh? I can dig it. I’m just saying I’m going back in there, after all that. And…I do want you as a friend. So…uh…I don’t even know where I was going with that, heh.†He smiles wryly, and resumed walking back into the training room. His expression was a mix between awkward embarrassment and barely contained fear. “Look, I…I’m not mad at any of you, all right? You didn’t say anything wrong. I just…I don’t know. Maybe I’m not as okay as I thought I was.†He didn’t elaborate, and looked for all the world like the most awkwardly teenage boy of all time. “Let’s just do this thing already. Before I lose my-I mean change my mind.â€

[Tiffany Korta]

And hand poke around the corner a pass card clutched firmly being brandished around. A voice sounding slightly more distance than it should introduced themselves.

 

“Miss Grue, Alien shapeshifter.†there was a pause and the young Telepath added “I do have permission to be here honest.†her voice sounded a little unsure.

 

“I can go if it’s a problem, everyone seems a little tense right now.â€

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia had reared a fist back while positioning herself near a pillar.  She was about to start pounding on the structure assuming the loud thuds would be enough to draw attention from the ups and down of the emotional rollercoaster from using a training room.  Which admittedly almost had her break out in laughter at this point.  Things had taken a turn for the silly.
 
Before either tactic could be put to the test the 'sound' of Miss Grue attempting to get into the room drew her attention.  In less than a moment she had crossed the distance to the entranceway.  Dragging the plucky grue inside.  "Nonsense, stay!  Philosophical disagreements on the merits of training methods and teamwork." Swinging a guest pass wasn't easy by any means, Thaelia wasn't about to get the Summers glare for being an inhospitable host.

[The Sailor]

Sakurako sighed. "Look you guys just sort this out. This headache is starting to get to me. I got some lab projects to work on." she said, pulling back the hood on her suit that kept her hair in place. "This whole thing is sour to me."

 

Seeing Miss Grue come in, Sakurako just shook her head. "Now everyone is coming to see the drama. I want no part of it." She said, walking off. She knew she was going to catch heat from the faculty, but it seemed more and more there was only certain people she trusted here at the school, otherwise being solo was more a matter of people not holding her back with their issues.

Edited March 15, 2015 by The Osprey

[KnightDisciple]

In the distraction of people coming and going, Nevermore had moved to a corner of the room, his presence somehow shrinking despite his posture not changing much. His shoulders might be a bit more slumped, though.

 

"Supposed to just be training. There was a mix-up. And..."

 

He shook his head.

 

"I'm Nevermore. It's nice to meet you. Maybe we should give it another couple of minutes, see if anyone else shows up, then decide what we want to do. Then we can leave a note for anyone who wants to join in after we start."

[Heritage]

Casey offered the new arrival a smile and a friendly wave. "Hi Miss Grue! Can you fly? How many fliers do we have?" She zipped up to the ceiling, then dove down and hovered right in front of Vonnie and said softy, "By the way, I'm really glad you came back." Then she was back up, floating in place with her arms crossed. "Well first off, I think we need to know what people are capable of doing, at least before we start trying to split into teams or trying more advanced tactics." She stroked her lower lip thoughtfuly. "This is going to sound silly, but maybe we should start with something really simple. Like maybe...tag? Or how about combat tag, where we have to manuver around obstacles, too?"

The blonde powerhouse cleared her throat, and then spoke in a clear, loud voice. "Initiate Urban Combat Configuration 345, please!" Various simulated structures rose out of the floor; wooden and chain link fences, the backs of several old buildings and what appeared to be streetlights and telephone poles. The Wreck Room had taken on the appearance of any number of alleys that could be found throughout Freedom.

She alighted gently next to Vonnie. "Does this work for you guys? No flying, just to be fair."

Edited March 8, 2015 by Heritage

[EternalPhoenix]

Vonnie smirked. He was still a little uncomfortable, but screw that. He was doing the right thing. He was doing what he was supposed to do. Being a little uncomfortable? That was nothing compared to-and he was shutting down that line of thought right now. No relapses in attitude today. Noooo. “That makes it fair? I guarantee if you take away flying none of you can catch me. I laugh at obstacles.†He gave Miss Grue the once over. He was technically a teenage boy, and such things just don’t come with off switches at that age. “Nice to meet you. Samaritan. Alien, huh? Like as in from a lot further away than Mexico?†He teased gently. Then at Nevermore. “I’ll go one step further, man. It’s my fault. All of it. The whole thing. Beginning to end. If I’d had a better attitude from the start, we’d be doing this thing already and not standing here discussing it. And Endeavour would still be here. So…I don’t know…cheer up? To your usual level of…whatever you are.â€

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia contemplated flying.  She couldn't do it, personally. But she could leap like her life depended on it.  "Are we allowed to destroy the obstacles?"  The Atlantean asked.  Not at all considering the possibility that an obstacle would be tough enough to stand in her way.  Though to be fair, there wasn't a very high chance of that.  Neither chainlink fence nor upright building was meant to withstand a charging Glamazon.  Thaelia lacked the mobility of her peers.  But, her movements weren't hampered by anything as silly as human like limitations.  

 

So she had to know in what respects she should limit her strength.  Clearly full contact on the tagging wouldn't be a good idea.  Not everyone was built sturdily and it was simply a warm up beginning to the training.  So understanding what not to do was clearly important.  The fact that she wasn't fully chipper attested as to why the Glamazon hadn't added anything else to her question.  Not even a bragging declaration of victory.  Wanting to avoid yet another argument.

[KnightDisciple]

Nevermore smirked at Vonnie's confidence.

 

"No flying. No gliding. No destroying. No grapnels. As little super-strength or other non-flight motive powers as possible. Supposed to be a contest of skill, not who has the most powerful quadriceps."

 

When he mentioned gliding, he shook one side of his own cape for emphasis, indicating he was giving himself a disadvantage. When he mentioned grapnels, he pointed to both himself and Vonnie, indicating those who he know possessed such devices.

 

When Vonnie apologized, Nevermore grew more somber, and gave the other hero a nod.

 

"Everyone's fault. No one's "fault". We're just teenagers. Fights happen. No one broke a nose this time, so it's a win in my book. But, apology accepted."

 

He had a ghost of a smile on his lips as he turned and walked to the door that led into the holographic simulation. He bounced on his feet a couple of times, rolled his shoulders and then his neck, and did a couple of very brief stretches that were half-obscured by his cape.

 

"And this is just my game face."

 

He was ready whenever the others were.

[Heritage]

Casey was happy; sure, things weren't perfect, and she would still have to check in with Saku later to make sure she was okay, but by and large, the day was salvaged. As a Girl Scout most of her life, there were few things she valued more than teamwork, and the thought of what a team of young superhumans could do together thrilled her in a way she could never have imagined before.

We could do SO much together!

Now that everyone was on the same page, there was a giddiness in her belly and an eagerness to get to it. "Okay, well, I guess I'll get us started then!" Suddenly the blonde's fist shot out and caught Vonnie in the shoulder; it was a fairly hard punch, but well within the limits of the 'big brother sucker punch' school of combat. "Tag, you're it!" Grinning like a fool, she ran pell mell into the simulated alley.

Minus her super-speed and flying, Casey was really just a good athlete with a lot of raw power; she was not a world class gymnast by any means, and she had a good feeling that both Samaritan and Nevermore probably were. Still, today was all about learning together while having a good time, and there was no shame in admitting a teammate was more talented than you.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Heritage

[The Sailor]

Simulation rules: No flying...

Sakurako stood in front of the simulator doors. Something drew her back to the simulator room... something that made her think she was making a large mistake leaving these people to start forming as a team... She knew she couldn't do this alone, that giant robot crab she fought was a wakeup call. But to pretty much put yourself voluntarily into self-exile didn't seem logical.

 

She straightened her suit as it switched into the Claremont colors. She put a hand on the simulator's interface as it recognized her credentials. "Computer... what are the current weather conditions?"

"Lightly cloudy, night time, full moon."

Sakurako grinned. "Increase clouds. Start rain in 30 seconds. This is... too easy." she commanded through her datalink...

 

"Doors... open."

 

The simulator opens up, as she starts twirling her EM wand. She knew she had to vacate and quick... particularly as it seems Casey was already into the simulated city. While everyone was watching Casey, Endeavor ran to their east, behind them, right into some side alleys. She was going to observe... watch... and exploit.

Edited March 15, 2015 by The Osprey

[EternalPhoenix]

A smile crossed Vonnie’s face as he rubbed his shoulder after Casey’s punch. A certain sailor suited person has rejoined us, eh? Well, I’m not gonna spoil her surprise. “I’ve always wanted to say something like this. Gentlemen, it’s been fun, but I’ve got a hot blonde waiting for me.†He tore after Casey...would be a good description if he didn’t have superpowers. He could have sprinted and caught her in in ten seconds, maybe fifteen. But that wasn’t the point here. Vonnie didn’t quite know how to turn his powers off or where they stopped and his own abilities began. So, he slowed it down. Usain Bolt would have been envious of the endurance, but the speed wouldn’t have quite measured up. He still caught up to Casey in a hurry. He could’ve just returned the favor and tagged her, but Vonnie did have a bit of a show off streak in him. He jumped and vaulted her, with one hand on the top of her head supporting him as he went over. Strong as she is, she shouldn’t even be knocked off stride.“Tag, you’re it!†It wasn’t as good of a leap as he could have done, but again, that wasn’t the point. He landed and kept running, just slow enough that Casey didn’t get left behind. It was easier to judge one’s speed with someone beside you, after all. There was a fairly tall chain link fence. He jumped (again, not nearly as well as he could have), and pulled himself up to have a seat. He flashed a cocky grin. “I wonder. Can Miracle Girl climb a fence?†He backflipped down to the ground on the other side of the fence and waited. He had the right pace for the people without super powered speed now. He waited, ready to take off again if she made it over.

[The Sailor]

Between Vonnie and Casey, Endeavor would prefer Casey being "it" as at least she couldn't see where every person was. Vonnie had wall-hacks. Pure and simple. Casey was strong and agile, but compared to Vonnie they were dead even on a sensory basis. In this game of "tag" she would prefer Casey to be "it". She knew at least Vonnie knew where the majority of people could be. But she can't anticipate all the variables with certainty. There are others in the room.

 

Miss Grue with her ability to shapeshift and to amplify her body's capabilities, Nevermore's covert skill, Glamazon was a straight up scion of the Olympians... She was in a real bind.

 

So she'll keep running... She knows at some point someone who is it could come for her, but for now she was going to find ways to observe the tactics of her classmates. She looked up and saw a building, a skyscraper that was only a couple stories tall, and for the area, was a perfect perch for spying. She runs to a side door and uses her EM Wand to break the lock.

 

Once in she spot-welds the door with it, making sure anyone trying to get to her has to find a different way in. That is if they couldn't just punch the door down.

 

She runs up to the top level and keeps her head down as she starts watching.

Edited March 17, 2015 by The Osprey

[KnightDisciple]

As soon as the chase had begun, Nevermore was off at a sprint. For a guy without an ounce of real super-power in his body, he was fast! And he could move. The cowl-wearing youth slipped along the wet, trashy urban landscape.

 

A dumpster was just a perch to leap and run upon, giving him a boost when he encountered the fence. The fence, that was harder only because he had to place his hands just so to somersault over it in a smooth roll that left him hitting the ground boots-first, his knees bent to absorb the impact.

 

He'd seen Samaritan tag Miracle Girl. He'd even caught a glimpse of Endeavour deciding she wanted to play nice again. None of that slowed him. He was in his element. The dark, the rain, the cityscape? All of it was perfect for him. He started changing his movement pattern, going from a simple straight-line sprint to a randomized zig-zag pattern that began hitting the patches of shadows around him, making him drop out of sight for precious seconds at a time.

[Tiffany Korta]

Daphne stood and thought for few second going intangible for a few seconds so she didn’t get accidently tagged.

 

“So no flying, shame I’ve been getting really good at flying. But I guess I can still do this right!â€

 

Becoming solid again an extra pair of arms flawless appeared below her original set then all four limbs began to stretch and expand snaking around the room looking for the other participants. It would be cheating to use her telepathy so she was relying on her touch and she was sure she caught at least someone.

[The Sailor]

"Clever..." Sakurako thought, looking over the sides of the building she was on. She noticed a dumpster loaded with trash bags on one side. "Saw this on Boondock Saints... I should keep changing my perch..." She thought hopping from the two-story building and into the dumpster... it closed over her head from the force of her impact... luckily the impact gel system injected into the membrane of her suit in time. Although climbing out for a moment on to the rain-slicked and scattered trash bags was almost embarassing.

 

"Great... dramatic but noisy..." She thought, when she thought she saw a rat... with a long tail... Sakurako wasted no time at shooting at it with her EM wand with an electrical bolt before running off into the rainy night of the simulation. "Now everyone knows where I am... Okay... gotta keep my eyes peeled for Nevermore, he's got the distinct advantage in stealth..."

Edited March 24, 2015 by The Osprey

[Heritage]

Vonnie calculated correctly: Casey didn't even break stride as the athletic boy vaulted over her head and quickly made it over the fence. She skidded to a stop and crossed her arms. "Oh, I can climb a fence, dude! Just give me-" She was interrupted by a loud thunderclap and flash of lightning as Endeavor's storm suddenly erupted overhead. Instantly soaked, she squealed and shook her head as she smiled grimly.

"Somebody changed the perameters; probably someone outside the sim. Which means..." She closed her eyes then looked around, her infravision now active; she caught a brief glimpse of someone on a rooftop before they jumped out of sight, someone who's sailor suit had very distinctive thermal properties. "Saku's entered the game grid; excellent!" There was no sarcasm in her voice; she was genuinely happy her friend had returned.

She turned back to Vonnie, hands on her hips. "You know what, I've always considered it bad tag form to just retag the person who just tagged you." She shrugged. "So, you live to tag another day, Grapple Boy!" Then she turned on her heel and sprinted away, shouting dramatically! "Sakurakoooooo?! I will find you, Rainbringer!"

In infrared, the mock cityscape was stark black and white with blobs of dark and light to mark sharp distinctions of heat and cold; Casey could only shake her head in disbelief at the detail of the sim as she nearly slipped in a puddle.

Is the water actually real? Guess there could be sprinklers in the ceiling, and drains in the floor...

Edited March 27, 2015 by Heritage

[Brown Dynamite]

Glamazon for her part had to be the only one not aware of Endeavor re-entering the game.  She knew someone had messed with the parameters.  And measured that it had to be someone who wasn't aware of Thaelia's view on the simulated rain.  Which was to say she didn't like it.  It lacked the same refreshing feeling as real rain.  Still, that was just the demigoddess being picky.

 

Not so picky as to not recognize it for what it meant.  They had another player in their game.  Toying with the idea of minimal amount of strength and speed as possible.  Thaelia had chosen a vertical run path.  Hoping to get a vertical view of the proceedings by scaling a nearby building.  Especially as it took almost no time to lose track of Nevermore and the intangible Daphne.  While she had not spotted Vonnie tagging Casey, it was a lot harder to miss Miracle Girl's shouts.

 

A new tagger.

[KnightDisciple]

Nevermore heard all the others making boasts or asking if someone was hiding in the shadows. He really really hoped, for the sake of his fellow students, none of them rose to the bait of saying "I'm hiding!" or the like.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miss Grue phasing in and out of tangibility and sending out super-long stretchy arms. He wasn't sure how that would interact with the simulation of a full-size city in the reality of a much smaller and defined room. He preferred to not find out the hard way and get tagged too soon.

 

So he kept moving around things; slight cheater or no, he wasn't just going to stop and yell it out! He already didn't know where Endeavor and Glamazon were, beyond vague ideas; he didn't want to give them any advantage. Normally he'd try the rooftops himself, but he resolved to not use grapnels or his glider cape until someone made an even more blatant use of powers and tools.

 

Boss Lady would be proud he was taking his training so seriously.

 

So he kept dashing and ducking about, though by now he had slowed his pace a bit and was trying to concentrate on being stealthy as well as gaining distance.

[The Sailor]

If Endeavor wasn't bound by the game rules, she would be 'ground skating' just above the sidewalk and the water now pooling on it. She was at a distinct speed disadvantage. She was not the physical specimen the majority of people here were, everyone could counter her. Casey's challenge was something that was a threat. In a one on one with no powers, she would be nothing but a paper tiger. Even if it was a super powered game of tag. She knew she would have to augment her physical training at the Academy with her parent's training regimen... That is if she expects to survive if there is a time where her suit isn't an option.

 

Then she comes up with an idea.

 

Standing at an intersection of alleys, she stands in the center. "I surrender!" She shouts. Hands up.

 

"Who'll come first... time to bait the waters and watch the sharks play..." Sakurako thought. She wasn't a physical person, but mentally... her mind was the most dangerous here. She can't win... unless she can out think everyone here...

Edited April 2, 2015 by The Osprey

[EternalPhoenix]

It wasn’t the sudden downpour that stole Vonnie’s ability to think away. It was the resulting effect on the tall, athletic blonde a few feet in front of him. Vonnie, despite having superpowers, remained a more or less average teenage boy. So, at the sight of an attractive female who was soaked to the skin, his mind just went blank for a second. When he recovered, Casey was chasing after Saku. Well. That was a thing that happened. He shook his head to clear it of that particular image. I’m the one in charge here, mister. Shut your traitorous mouth. …you know what I mean. So, so glad LJ’s not here right now. She’d smack me for being such a boy. He needed a safer target, so much. And what do you know, Nevermore was around. Very safe. Yes. He took off running again, after the young man he’d worked with in the jungle.

[Heritage]

Casey heard Sakurako's voice and skidded to a stop; she closed her eyes and tried to place its origin with her mind's eye, a trick she developed while out hiking as a kid. She turned her body this way and that, recalling where the sound seemed to come from almost as though it was a visual phenomenon. But of course, thus wasn't a state park; sound did different things in the city, even in the rain. After a few moments, she thought she knew which way to go, but she had to be prepared for anything.

Pretend Saku is a deer you don't want to startle; sneak up on her so you can get a good look with your binoculars.

Sticking to the driest patches of sidewalk so she wouldn't splash, the Girl Scout kept low and scurried forward, hugging the walls as much as possible. Her infravision had several advantages in this situation; rain had little effect on it, and warm-blooded creatures stood out like glowing phantoms from the shadowy mass of buildings. Down one alley she saw a large figure in the distance, most likely Glamazon, but that was not her intended target. Casey continued stalking her friend; if she was even close to where she thought, this corner should-

There. About fifty feet away, standing in the middle of the alley, much closer than she thought, coming in at about Sakurako's eight o'clock. Casey knew she wasn't good enough to sneak all the way up to her, not yet anyway, and certainly not without speed or flight. So she decided to be a bit tricky.

The blonde powerhouse had been working on something new; experimentation with her vocal chords had shown them to be unusually flexible, allowing her to mimic a number of sounds. Ducking behind a garage, Casey cleared her throat a few times, then yelled out in a eerie approximation of Vonnie's voice, "Casey, she's over here!" She then peeped around the corner to see the Asian girl's reaction.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Heritage

[The Sailor]

Something didn't make sense... didn't Casey and Vonnie already go into a tagging situation?

 

Don't trust the battlefield. Don't trust your senses in it until you've got your opponent dead to rights. Sakurako looked around. She spotted a steam pipe nearby, so she used her EM-Wand in a surprising way, as Casey sees an energy blade cut through the pipe in a few moments and Sakurako runs off, the steam providing a hot cover behind her.

 

Could Nevermore have some sort of mimicry? Or... How much of our powers are in play... Movement was out of the window but what else...

 

Endeavor stayed vigilant as she ran, checking the corners and sweeping her field of vision. It seemed Plan A wasn't working as planned. That is when she skidded to a stop in the water. She was within 20 feet of Vonnie has he ran down a alley, through the intersection she almost crossed through. Sakurako hid behind a dumpster. This wasn't good...

[KnightDisciple]

OOC: I am a bit lost as to what game they're playing, or who's "IT", etc, right now.

     

[Heritage]

Casey is currently 'It' and trying to tag someone to pass her 'It' status to somebody else

Edited May 1, 2015 by Heritage