Stepping Out by Null0trooper

Welcome to the Psi Club

Monday evening, September 12, 2016,
Crystal Hall Cafeteria, Whateley Academy.

Stella 'Dafira' Nolan, and while Whateley is a school for mutants to learn how to use their powers, it is still a school, you should have expected assignments like this. Livy Breedon aka Provenance, powers a mix of gadgeteering and psi, interesting. Hehe, I like Stella's imagination of how the powers would work interacting with things that might exist. Puck aka Puckwidge, exemplar, empath, precog, and probability mangling, dang, he has a lot of potential. Boy, Stella has a big imagination to come up with all these scenarios.

Tabitha trying to get Dafira's attention, daydreaming, and still hasn't thought of ways to leverage her own powers, oof. Manifested at an anime and comics convention, has silvery tentacles and filament instead of hair on her head, she got lucky manifesting there. Heat or Sonic, Stella has some intriguing powers. And nice Doctor Who reference by Tabitha. Emitters made by Livy for whatever form of electromagnetic radiation it is Stella wields, cool idea. What did Tabitha's baby brothers do to the microwave?

Beck Library.

QA Labs, what are those? X-rays and gamma radiation to check welds, dang, they get all the good stuff. Horror stories from the lab kids, yeah, there will always be those who don't follow safety precautions or unknown elements that could make something safe into something dangerous. Puck's precog ability so far is limited only to warnings about stuff he is about to do, still a good power to have when safety is involved.

Object reading on devises, interesting use for the power. Parker Danes in Emerson, hhm, curious about what he is working on. Electryadyne, Helsing, Watson, and Power Stunt, at least one I haven't heard of there, nice group to pick from. When someone says a devisor is a nutter, you listen to them, and at least take it as a warning to be cautious around them.

Wednesday evening,
Room 236, Whitman Cottage.

A floor meeting, ways to kill a werewolf, what the heck happened to prompt this meeting? Stella, you could try talking to Helsing instead of worrying she might make curses instead of just breaking them. Dathomiri, she doesn't mean the race from Star Wars, does she?

Tabitha, why is she upset by what Helsing said and what implied threats did Helsing make? *blinks* Just what kind of organization is Tabitha's family connected to?

"Violate a guest's privacy? That puts you on all sorts of shortlists! I'll leave that to the professionals."

Now I really want to know, as it sounds complicated and dangerous to those who don't know all the rules.

Wednesday afternoon,
Radiologic QA/QC Lab, Whateley Workshop.

Dr. Lawrence allows a brief tour, they are in for a treat. ID badges that had to be shielded until worn, whoa. And they track radiation exposure levels, I guess you need those in such a lab or have an even higher risk of death. Lawrencium, seriously, lab geeks.

Okay, that confirms Puck's precog ability does warn of danger to others and he just saved Stella.

"No. I guess that narrows things down to whatever radiation sources are above background for topside or down here."

"You'd be surprised to find how many places in our tunnel system where that's not a safe assumption."

Okay, any student who hears that who is nervous will start wearing a lead suit into the tunnels. Smart graduate advisor, safety first over expedience. Okay, I would avoid that class demonstration at all costs if there is anything greater than a 1% chance of that happening.

Whatever that scanner on the plank of wood was I wouldn't feel safe in the same room with it. A page of notes and the scanner has something off on the control system, that is a scary thing to hear when dealing with high energy physics. Electron scattering and it was irradiating the nails in the wood! *screams so high pitched only dogs can hear it*

"On the bright side, if Miss Nolan can detect or even image scattered x-rays – maybe other radiation as well – we could design a work-study position around that. How does that sound?"

Stella, what are you thinking by agreeing to this? This is one of the most dangerous labs at Whateley!

An app on her phone to alert her to gamma-ray bursts, boy, Stella got a weird app.

"It might not be safer than tunnel maintenance or groundskeeping, but any paying job helps. Give it a go. If it doesn't work out, you can find something else."

Okay, Tabitha has got me there, working in the tunnels can be as dangerous as working in a lab with all that dangerous energy.

Tabitha gets a call from Livy to talk privately. A dangerous test, unattended, when they show up. Picked up by Dafira, and precog warning by Puck, hhm. I hope they are just being paranoid, but it sure sounds like someone is out to get Dafira or Puck. Someone after students with oddball powers, there are always idiots after people like that. Narrowing it down though, you need to know the possible motive first.

Thursday afternoon,
7th Period Powers Theory.

One boy in the group and you let him ready what they all came up with together, oh boy.

"... As far as we can tell, Provenance's object reading ability is reasonably accurate in providing equipment construction and maintenance data. We tested a number of weapons at Range 4 with various mechanical, hydraulically assisted, and electronic upgrades. Given the breadth of potential, more testing is recommended."

That is a very useful power for someone working in the labs to have.

Puckwidget's receptive empathy is limited to 30 meters and line-of-sight, huh, normally most receptive empaths we've seen can sense them even when they can't see someone. Wait, that part about his precognitive abilities, did they leave out what he did for Dafira yesterday? And infrared vision, handy. Mr. Bergamont had to deal with someone singing "Another Brick in the Wall", oof, I would give them a day of detention for interrupting the class for that stunt.

After Powers Theory and Lab class.

"Let's see. I'm the only swinging dick out of the four of us. According to Mrs. Ryan, adding red hair comes across as a challenge to authority. And talk about distrust: baselines have nothing but for empaths and precogs. That's why everybody knew I sure wasn't going to get a fair shake back in Vah Beach. It didn't help much that today's uniform day for me and Livy."

If a teacher docked you points for all those reasons I would go to the headmaster or assistant headmaster to complain about his conduct. Livy is right, how can you expect kids to report everything when adults don't all the time, they learn from what they see.

Friday afternoon,
7th Period Powers Theory.

Arrggh! Interview a fellow student like that for an assignment, they are freshmen, this is cruel imo.

I'm with Dafira, talking to other people is hard. Hadrian, and he thinks it won't take 30 minutes, oh brother. Mark Adam Walters, boy, he is skinny for his height. Speedster for a roommate, that would mess up anyone's sense of timing. Manifestor 5 who makes walls of bricks or stone, pretty tough wall with that power rating. Yeesh, don't try making your own nuclear fallout shelter on your own, he needs to learn construction techniques to help with his power.

Go around the wall or tip it over, darn, good defense if he can place it where someone can't do either of those things.

"Tabbie's a bit more than that! She's keen on studying architecture and construction. She might have ideas on stabilizing your constructs. Something to think about."

Ooo, I hope Tabitha goes into construction in the future and figures out new ways to make sturdy, safe buildings and homes. Whoa, it sounds like he is pulling the stuff he manifests from another dimension. Hadrian after the Roman emperor known for his many construction projects, a great codename with his power.

Stella is 5'2", 120 lbs., and a lot of it is muscle, dang. Esper 2 to detect things behind her, energizer 2, and manifestor 2 [possibly internal, yikes].

"But that last part could be structural. Basically, don't touch my hair, ever. It's not hair, and the parts that aren't electrically charged are venomous like a jellyfish."

Okay, that is a warning you want, jellyfish stings can vary from species to species, some are painful, and some are lethal enough to kill 10 elephants at once. Touch people's hair without asking, I saw enough female classmates go through that on school buses to know it is horrible.

The way her ESP works, man, I would love to see a piece of artwork showing a human behind her but from the perspective of her ESP. Ack! Sensitive to odors and has no way to block them like with her nose, which sucks. Hehe, made Mark's face go green. *eyes bug out* That is stronger than a bloodhound's sense of smell from what I can tell. Mark is in Poe and the guy Stella pointed out, Kent, is also in Poe, hhm. Ouch, powers testing can be rough, but that sounds brutal. Spraying the venom she manifests as part of her tentacles for self-defense is, a great idea if it works.

After Powers Theory class.

Silent freak-out, ack, poor guy. He Chews cinnamon gum and does breathing exercises to calm himself, it sounds like he has an anxiety condition, I have two of those and know the signs, I hope what he is doing helps. Oh, good, Puck showed up and knows he needs a break to calm himself down, text Mrs. Bohn about being late, he is a great guy.

Mini-bottle of peppermint oil, he is having to use all this to calm himself down, Mark has it worse than I did at his age. 5 minutes and Mrs. Bohn sent Toolbox aka Kent to take Mike over to Doyle, he has panic attacks this often, this is one of the worse anxiety conditions I've ever seen.

It reminded him of some things that happened last year, ouch, no wonder it triggered a panic attack. They put Hardrian and Swerve as roommates, yikes, I hope there aren't any receptive empaths on their floor. Oh crap, he tried to build a shelter when a tornado hit and it got taken down around him, didn't it? Kent has seen some of the signs, good to have people around who notice and can help.

Pour Choices

Late Sunday morning, October 2, 2016,
Crystal Hall, Whateley Academy.

Aww, Stella, you are going to learn so much more about your fellow students in the next four years. You have just started, so the weirdness or awkward things are just beginning. Oh, god, not the Whateley rumor mill. Some of that stuff is true, other times it is a calculated lie made with planted evidence and rumors started by someone to mess with someone else.

Stella, don't misgender someone like that again, please. Tabitha is right, she is a girl completely down to her chromosomes on the physical level. Stella! I liked you at first, but talking like that about m-t-f changelings is uncalled for and beyond rude. Ooo, Tabitha hit Stella where it hurts by bringing up her own changes and how the changes felt for her.

Round of chemo, oh boy, she had cancer and already lost her hair to chemo, didn't see that coming. Hopes her little brother isn't trying to find a replacement sister, nah, he wouldn't do that. BITs can be a crapshoot. Max Livingston, oh boy, if he can break the mood that easily it should be a power on his MID.

Max has a point, it isn't contagious so why should anyone care that Cally is a changeling and became a girl?

"What's there to get? That a girl used to be a dude? You've never been to Thailand. Amazing what a good team of doctors can sculpt. What's really a miracle is how a scrawny Chinese kid could become a finely-tuned dancing machine and international emcee? I mean, what are the odds?"

He has a good point, he also has a big ego it seems.

"Okay. How would you feel if someone close to you – someone you trusted – turned out to be someone else? What if they were lying about their past? Imagine being trapped in a relationship under false pretenses."

"Trapped? How? No one spills all their secrets before they even get to third base! Plenty of time to either bail out on something that isn't going to work or make the best of it while it lasts. Some people I could name would have rounded home plate, finished the game, showered, and dressed for the post-game celebration before they got halfway through their dirty laundry!"

He is being crass about it, but it shouldn't be a big deal about Cally having been a boy before, she is all girl now.

Listen to Tabitha on this, Stella, you don't want just random hook-ups for that.

"Yeah," Max agreed. "The hard part in life's dealing with who you're with now. Way I hear it, devisor drugs and mutant manifestations are one-way trips. No take-backs. And, as far as any entrapment stuff goes? When the game is blackmail, everyone plays dirty."

"Exactly," Tabitha said. "That's got to be what this is all about. Some scumbag got told 'no' and decided to ruin the girl's reputation. You just know that the asshole would have been all cool with it, just so long as he got his wee willie wick wet. Give it a few days, and the gossips will have something new to screech about."

Boy, Max, and Tabitha are wise about the way these things happen and how Cally got outed.

Saturday morning, October 08, 2016,
Costume Shop I.

Mrs. Ryan is a good teacher who informs her students about things like undocumented features in the tech they are going to be using. Mr. Lambert, that was a bad joke about Mrs. Carson when she isn't around to defend herself. Ah, Halloween is the ultimate test for costuming class students. And extra credit for the bold and creative, nice.

Fashion designers have to deal with clients who are worse than supervillains, yikes. Dance-Off Battle Royale!, this is going to be a fun Halloween.

"At the very least, expect a wide variety of practical jokes from your classmates. The technology, mystic arts, and psychic arts programs have their reputations to protect! Quality control and safety might be neglected to the inconvenience of many. However, in 2006, the school was attacked by well-armed forces, resulting in the deaths of numerous security officers and other staff members. There have been other attempts to compromise the school's security since. Given recent events, I recommend balancing any flights of fancy with both caution and budget. Class dismissed."

I just knew that one incident would encourage others to try and compromise Whateley's security. Tabitha DIeulafoy, please don't go with the "naughty schoolgirl" look, it is cliche and overdone.

Now who is this ruminating about the Halloween of 2006? Who is this creep thinking about the students in this way? Subtlety, why do they need subtlety? Magic to reveal for all to see, okay, who is this nut, and how dangerous is there is their plan for Halloween?

Talk about the Halloween party nears, the school band away at the battle of the bands, but that is Saturday. With Imp driving they should be back in time on Monday with it being only 190 miles away, at least with the way she will be driving. Aww, the band is much, much better this year with all new members except a few.

Whitman Cottage, Room 236.

Not a big deal back home, so Tabitha asks her roommate about the Halloween party. Oh, god, the scenario Tabitha describes I can just imagine going down at the party. Ooo, so the tale of Corrine's dust-up with Stark has spread. Dafira is going dressed as a Sith from the sounds of it. Ooo, Tabitha not letting the folks back home know about her costume, naughty.

Off-Campus.

Half the world away and a call for someone comes from Max. Paul Stanley, Starchild, frontman for KISS, and the person on the other end doesn't know him. Hhm, a costume as Starchild from KISS, that would definitely stand out at the Halloween party. And the guy on the other end is showing up on November 11th for a courier delivery. He is too much like Paul Stanley so he is suggested Shrek, which could work. Benjamin Xiáng Keeling, ah, so that is who Max was talking to. Ouch, Benjamin needs to get to Whateley already as a student so he can be with his friends.

Emerson Cottage, Room 241, Icejack and Esquire.

Oh no, not Gideon 'Esquire' Crawford. Peter Raiford's outfit probably looks perfectly fine, Gideon is just a snob. Cosplaying Alex Rider for Halloween, great idea. A disguise so people don't know who you are, isn't the point of Halloween, at least not the whole point. Plus I don't like the idea of Gideon in disguise and messing with people, but not being caught. Yes, blackmail photos of Gideon, good idea, Peter.

Monday afternoon, October 31, 2016,
Whateley Academy.

Venus, Inc. Principal Photography Studio, Dunn Hall.

Peter checking and photo sessions are all good despite what seem to be hacking attempts on the server. Danielle "Shutterfly" James talking to Peter about slacking off, hey, IT work is hard, especially at Whateley.

A gadgeteer specializing in video, she could step in when Flashbulb and FrameRate got swamped. It didn't hurt the club's image that she was also an exemplar beauty.

Dang, she can set up her own gear with remotes to go off and make her own photoshoots. Shooting through dinner, that is cruel.

Danielle taking charge and helping Peter make his cosplay work, I like her. Someone who could fill the role in real life and it is Benjamin, of course. Introducing her to Benjamin, him surviving to show up for classes isn't a problem, her meeting Benjamin and not getting annoyed at something he says is. Drones to take pictures and scope out new talents, the poor exemplars of Whateley have no chance when the Venus, Inc. girls are on the prowl. Ah, good, Jeff is suffering for the pay-per-view scheme that happened.

Twain Cottage, Super-Dance-Party.

Max Livingston, the Shrek costume is almost perfect, but something is missing, isn't that always the case. Benjamin is as short as Tom Cruise, ouch. He wants to show off the costume to Benjamin, aww. No Halloween back home, eeh, they have their own holidays to enjoy. The Hungry Ghost Festival sounds fun. Hehe, how many people react that way when they find out Benjamin lives in a cemetery before Max says there is a house on the property?

Whitman Cottage, Room 215, Hydrostatic and Onyx.

Riley Spencer dressed up as a blonde bimbo for Halloween, eep. Mao talking through Jenny and is not used to modern clothing styles yet. Jenny as a boy out playing soccer, they definitely got the costumes being nothing like them right.

Room 236, Homely and Dafira.

Tabitha thinks about entering the costume costume, I hope the teachers don't scold her costume choice. Her costume is made of good material and she has brought defensive gear and tools to prevent her from drinking a drugged drink. Smart girl. Dang, armored boots that look good, she is tricked out.

Traditional Sith robes over a Nightsister's red dress and Stella thinks this will let her hide in a crowd, good grief. Dafira's awakening, oh boy, Tabitha, don't do this to the innocent girl. And red thigh-highs, Tabitha, you are throwing Tabitha in the deep end at this point. One night in the wrong outfit can hurt for days or weeks later. Tabitha! Putting her in FMBs, Stella is innocent and 14, stop trying to rush her into things.

Poe Cottage, Room 212, Glyph and DragonsFyre.

Morgana going as Maleficent, costume malfunctions from the horns and the makeup if she heats up. And Morgana teases Bianca about it being her and Janine's problem if it happens. Hehe, the playful teasing between these two is the best part. Ooo, Morgana, thinking about what you want to do with Thulia, going to have to get sneaky for that.

Emerson Cottage, Room 221, Kuvuka.

Kuvuka is happy for his first American Halloween. Lukas Malual tries to navigate it all but is told the party will be fun. Ah, so he is from a culture that believes or knows evil spirits walk among them, but not so many whole communities have to go undercover. Saved by foreign police working with the UN mission, including Benjamin from the sounds of it. He is going dressed up as the person who saved his and his mother's lives. I hope Max and Peter don't confuse him at a distance for their friend.

Poe Cottage, Room 222, Hadrian.

Ouch, just what are the folks back home like for Mark to think of them this way? Oh, great, probably Humanity First! idiots who targeted him and his family. A Civil War Union soldier, good costume, and middle finger to the creeps back home.

Sundown, All Hallow's Eve,
Holbrook Arena.

A sudden gust of wind failed to hike up Tabitha's skirt on her way into the affair. Defeated, it looked around for someone to play with.

This is Whateley, either that is a student messing with her using a power or a wind spirit having some mischief. Ouch, early and already some things need to be fixed about the set-up for the party.

"Jeanne, Caitlin. Do you see Miss Dieulafoy over there? Her family are hoteliers; they do all this and more for a living. I'd suggest enlisting her help while it's available."

Hoteliers, darn it, I forgot her origin story for a while there, just remembered some of it.

"Is that girl what's happening to the wards on the hall?"

"Based on her ambiguous powers testing results, I find it highly likely. There's one way to find out."

"That's to get back to work?" Binder asked, already knowing the answer.

Caitlin Grey aka Binder has a lot of work to do, what are Tabitha's powers doing to the wards on the hall?

Kent 'Toolbox' Holloway welding for that long, no wonder he is sweating. Wait, that phrase, is he Dr. Lawrance's graduate advisor? Aww, no date for the party. Tabitha catches Kent, thanks him for coming to help, and gives him a drink. Tells Kent he is welcome there, costume or not costume. Heh, sounds like he is going to come as Fix-It Felix.

Gravedigger in a black satin skirt, spaghetti strap dress, boy, with this costume he may have a male body, but pulls off the outfit. Though him messing with the young demoness of Poe and wishes to mess with her, still thinking Morgana is a demoness, her costume isn't going to help against this nutjob.

Geoffrey Mazarin doesn't remember what it is like to be young, oh boy. A girl shows up in a sailor fuku as a tribute to anime and IT IS SUN WUKONG! Crud, the Monkey King has shown up for Halloween, I knew things were going too smoothly. Tabitha is showing her around, please don't let her act up while visiting.

Shannon Dougherty, that is an unfortunate name for a guy to have. An Orc and seems to think of the party as an Enemy's camp to sneak away from, at least that is how it reads.

Halloween was one thing from her old life that Vanessa Gordon didn't miss. Young Aiden had loved dressing up in a cool, baseline-affirming costume one night a year. Tonight, she wore swashbuckling finery, trying to recapture some of the innocence and happiness stolen from her.

Ouch, her family is so against mutants they forced costumes on their son like that, glad even if she had to go through a horrible transformation at the hands of an ex-girlfriend she can still enjoy Halloween. A "Tink" size, I think those are leftovers from when Tink was a student.

"No. It's just that back in the City, the 'hired help' is usually black. The folks in charge like to pretend they're better than that. Yet there's always a separate service entrance. Go figure."

Ouch, I would hate to be a part of that society.

The "serving wench" introduced herself, "By the by, my name is Tabbie Dieulafoy, and I do come from a long line of discreet suppliers and listeners. What about you, Alice?"

Tabitha's got claws. The next line, is just priceless, the perfect burn while sounding civilized. Heh, so untrusting they wait for others to try the punch and see what happens first.

Peter is not able to turn off the analytical side of his brain, heh, I know I would love that ability, off-and-on switch. All that and now filming the party crowd with the lights off for mood lighting, ouch. Shots like that, better delete those later. Good advice on filming with a drone in difficult lighting. Kent, why is he talking about the punch like that, did someone actually succeed in spiking it this year? Yup, the way Peter thinks Kent has opened up and is chatty sure sounds like it was spiked. Secret Squirrels surveilling people at the party, now that is beyond rude.

That ruled out touching anything from punch-and-snacks tables close to the boys' room or too close to the exits. Even with Miss Morticia watching the punch bowls and drawing goths like a freaking flame, she knew better than to trust high schoolers at a party.

Smart move, especially since it seems the punch has been spiked. Riley, no, don't do this just to get Summer to freak out.

Knocked over by Puck, nice joke with the last name bit. I think Puck bumped into her to keep her from getting drunk thanks to his precog warning him of danger to her. Aww, Riley, and Puck are going to dance.

Other than a hunch, Puck hadn't been sure why he had to step into the Whitmaniac's way like that.

Your power wants to keep a nice girl like Riley out of danger, glad he is around.

Climbing up those, Peter has good strength and dexterity to pull that off when they are stowed away. And the SS are trying to spy on him, Mouse has fallen trying to follow him, how many times for he think she needs to go to Doyle the next time? Great, what idiots are harassing Mark for dressing like a Union soldier? Darby, part of Gassy and Sigh, and Peter call in Derecha and Icejack to take care of the situation.

Lukas tries to get them to stop but doubles over as Gassy hits him with aerokinetic bullets, that is way over the line. Goaded into running into a shield of hypercondensed air, great, thugs who have tactics. Darn it, Mark panics and manifests a wall between himself and the two thugs, but leaves Lukas on the side with them.

Derehca shows up and tells them to stand down and wait for security, Samuel and David Darby are racists and don't listen to non-white people, it figures. Lukas can teleport, cool. Ugh, saying all those things including wait until our father hears about this and calling Derecha a bitch, so some of the worst traits in two individual packages.

Thank you, Peter, for getting Mark to see that fighting these idiots would get him into more trouble himself. Introductions and a call over the intercoms, get Mark to make his wall go away before...and too late as the Chief of Security is already there and annoyed. Good, he isn't so ticked he is yelling orders and just gives them out. Though I hope Kuvuka doesn't get too much of a lecture.

Adam Hinz aka Rook needs to stop taking his Security responsibilities so seriously, treating a fellow student like a "criminal in training" or any such thing should be grounds for dismissal from security jobs for students. Just because a student is a member of the Bad Seeds doesn't mean they will follow their parents into a life of crime or supervillainy.

Aww, Hadrian, lying to keep the Poe secret. Danielle caught part of the fight with the drone camera, good, I hope it is enough to get those Darby boys in trouble.

Icejack added, "That would be the first part I'd heard. The remainder fits this year's pattern of behavior. Passive-aggressive comments, then escalation until their target responds."

"Just because they sound innocent to a pack of looky-loos don't make such comments right to make."

Icejack pursed his lips and nodded. "Didn't say they were."

Idiots like that need a solid beating to within an inch of their lives to learn to not mess with people this way. And I'm not sure even that would work. Good, Icejack notes why he knows Samuel Darby used powers first. "Crash" as a nickname, how long will he have to live down that combat final until the nickname stops being used?

Riley can feel the party is drawing to a close, the Darby brothers helped cause it. Curfew only extended a half-hour after this last song, rats. Dancing with Cody now, Riley has had a lot of fun tonight. Find Jenny and Parker, then leave, even fun times like this must end. Ouch, Riley's mother is a piece of work, someone needs to teach her not to play games with her daughters.

Danielle calls out to Peter as he gets back and she tells him to cut to dance with Morgana to get her away from Gravedigger, a feeling she has. Trust that feeling. Ugh, Morgana is stuck in one of those chat groups, an excuse to escape is always welcome in those situations. *winces* Those lines, Peter, you need to learn better ways to chat with girls. He actually convinced her to dance with him, this better not be for blackmail material, Danielle.

Morgana almost runs until Peter explains who he is trying to keep Morgana away from. Morgana doesn't know Gravedigger, huh, guess he hasn't revealed himself before in a big enough way to leave an impression.

"You're a locker-sized A/V geek taking morning Calculus. Me fifth element - supreme being. Me protect you."

Bwahahaha, I can't believe Morgana said that.

Tuesday morning aftermaths, November 1, 2016,
Whateley Academy.

Whitman Cottage, Hydrostatic.

Riley's legs and back are sore, I saw that coming, never, ever try to keep up with energizers and exemplars when you aren't one. Just how many new phone numbers are in her contacts list? Riley, no, don't go trying to figure out how to ditch Whateley before graduation, stick it out, you have good friends who can help you.

Whitman Cottage, Homely.

Tabitha is not in rough shape after last night, boy, working in a hotel sure does teach you useful skills and develop useful abilities. Yikes! Stella had to be cut out of her costume, I knew that thing was too much. Appointment to see Mrs. Montaigne, mystic arts department, they saw her in action last night and now want to talk to her about her powers. A small gift basket of peaches, now that is a great gift.

Emerson Cottage, Kuvuka.

Lukas Malual, remembers having a good time at the party.

lmost like being under a spell, he found himself intervening in minor scuffles or arguments. Sometimes, it only took a calm voice and patience to let the argumentative know that they were acting like fools. Others took more convincing. He wasn't one to take on just anyone with no backup.

Wait a minute, the person plotting earlier in the story, cast a spell to make people susceptible to acting like their costumes! A sincere thank-you from Everheart for volunteering, a list of classes to take if he wants to become a Security auxiliary, and a message from Security Officer Takenaka saying to burn the costume and scatter the ashes because of who it reminds her of.

Emerson Cottage, Icejack.

Peter hurts all over and he was in those places, no wonder. Boy, you have weird dreams but they are trying to tell you something you are avoiding about yourself. Makeup and hair dye rubbing off, that poor pillow needs a deep cleaning now. And for the uniform, he had help and you should ask him why he chose that costume.

Poe Cottage, Hadrian.

Mark has nightmares and survivor's guilt, how many of his family, friends, and neighbors died in the tornado? Were all those places wrecked by one tornado or multiple, if one sounds like a monster. Mark Walters, I hope counseling is helping him or will in time.

Saturday, November 12, 2016,
Crystal Hall, Whateley Academy.

Puck serving his Mom and Liesey while praising the Crystal Hall. His roommate has a sponsor, hhm. Tabitha and Stella show up and his family goes off to get food while he goes to chat with them. Stella's still recovering from her family visit, yikes. Puck's mom and sister, man, they sure rib him good.

"Andy's managed to propose to Ekene and barely survived propositioning Kat before our father could drag him back to the parking lot. It takes a lot to fluster Telekat. He managed."

Andy is never being allowed back at Whateley again, for his own safety.

Shortly after, Puck, his mother Barbara, and sister Annaliese arrived with laden trays. Both of her children shared Barbara's red hair and pale, rosy skin tone. Moreover, at 6-foot-4, Annaliese could have passed for an exemplar, much like her brother.

6'4", are we sure she isn't a stealth mutant and just hasn't been tested properly to detect it? Stella has neighbors who don't like her because she is an obvious mutant, sickening.

So many people at Whateley who have been saved by Benjamin now. A foot taller than Liesey, must be Max. Aww, Ekene's avoiding Stella because of what her brother said and did, you can't choose family, nor control them.

Max beamed in pride, "Kapalangpur. Don't worry about never hearing of it."

Eddie said, "WESTPAC. Wasn't that the place you told Dad he'd stay on the ship if he didn't want to learn about California divorce laws the hard way?"

Barbara doesn't play around, dang. Benjamin is on campus and went to Dickenson for business, uh oh.

Annaliese took a bite from her burger to hide the telepathic realization that Lukas, Tabitha, and now Max were talking about the same person.

If this isn't just a metaphor then Annaliese is a mutant, an exemplar, and at least also a telepath.

Stomping Grounds.

Early Tuesday afternoon, December 6, 2016,
Underclassmen Combat Finals, Arena 77, Whateley Academy.

Soundoff and Homely are in a combat final. Soundoff, how does she have a military MID and that second team affiliation if she is a resident of the UN? Kinetic energy absorber, now there is a dangerous power. Homely's MID, aww, her techniques, she really doesn't want to fight.

Michelle Campbell has some info on Soundoff and that zone of silence is a brutal tactic, not being able to hear yourself or your opponent is disorienting. Tabitha, even if you are sent to Doyle they can patch you up quicker than any other hospital in the world.

She made a costume that shows no skin but makes the viewers think they are seeing a lot of it, creative and useful against opponents attracted to females. "Generous" ballistic gel padding, is one way to pad your chest. That costume and all that makeup, too bad her opponent is female and probably not lesbian, bi, or pan.

WARS Broadcast Booth

Great, the announcers think Tabitha has no chance at all.

Soundoff.

Maria Chambers wears urban camo, a ballistic plate carrier, and the perfect mask. Testers didn't list her package powers for Homely, now why did they do a fool thing like that? Anime pirate hooker, that is just rude to Tabitha's costume.

Soundoff reporting as ordered! I take it that you, indicating Tabitha, are Homely? Please bear with me. My power makes it impossible to hear or be heard. My assistance software can listen for and translate your speech.

Is her power active constantly? That is horrible if that is the case, effectively deaf to the world. The VI can hear even if behind Soundoff or her view is blocked, handy. And Soundoff wishes to work together to learn teamwork, please let her be honorable and not pull a double-cross, I would like to see a team-up work out for once.

Combat stage, Arena 77.

The hard-light holos make everything so realistic. Tabitha has to yank Maria out of the way of a scooter, yikes, not hearing is scary. VI with imputed data to map out the location, Maria leads the way with Tabitha behind her as backup. Let's see how they do.

Homely.

Tabitha wonders why Americans like to take shortcuts. In an alleyway, a drunk throws a bottle at Tabitha, a lookout for the group trying to ambush them. Tabitha backs off in Maria's direction as the drunk attacks her with a knife. She takes him down with a broomstick, but now Soundoff needs help.

Soundoff.

Go with your first instinct, don't just do something to show off your abilities. Don't focus so much that you miss the HUD telling you about a warning. Telescoping shock baton, Maria has a good weapon for takedowns. The creep has sports armor, but she gets him anyway with the follow-up attacks. Tabitha took down 2 herself, impressive.

Homely.

It is a good thing Maria agreed to team up, I don't think Tabitha stands a chance in a fight against her currently. Tabitha goes in for the pick-up without Maria to avoid attention. Back-up plan if she meets opposition as well.

Evey, you are a corruptive influence on Tabitha.

Soundoff.

The Grunts paid attention to the tactics used in the combat finals, but that isn't a good thing for Tabitha with the way they analyzed things. Is she planning on taking out Tabitha soon so she won't hold her back? Secured the punk tailing Tabitha, but as she pulled out the package Maria tied her up with the duct tape and took off, ugh.

Homely.

Great, 3 minutes and being taunted about being ditched. Tabitha gets the gag off, and the creep talks about her being good for tricks. But she has tricks up her sleeves. Paddington, her VI, is told to contact the Met's reporting line about Maria's attack on her and where she is headed. Now that is using the system and law in your own favor. Creep thinks it is better that Tabitha is underage, man, the techies programmed them to be all kinds of nasty. Tabitha planted a tracker on the package, Maria didn't search for it, a rookie mistake.

Arena 77, Combat Final Debriefing Room A.

The army assigned a replacement for Sergeant-Major Sean-Burlington-Smythe, darn, I liked him. Sergeant-Major de Vryly, and he points out Maria overlooked the city was based on London, England.

"I don't follow. One city's much like another."

*facepalms* That kind of thinking leads to poor intel. Tabitha lives in London, on the West End, and knows her way about town.

"We are evaluating your progress toward surviving the outside world, where some of these matches inevitably manage to be broadcast. Whether you realize it yet or not, you have closed doors to certain future careers beyond this school. Third, you left an adversary on your six."

All she thought about was the immediate future and winning, a big mistake when you wish to work in the military in the future. Tabitha is right, never call in markers from the real world in a combat final as it might reveal them to enemies on the outside.

And Maria still thinks turning in the package in the time limit is all there is to winning and getting a good grade, she thinks too literally for her own good. You made so many rookie mistakes because of your rush to win, Maria. You are a sophomore and made mistakes even more than a few freshmen wouldn't make. And she thinks the techniques from Tabitha's MID are a joke. *sigh* Darn, Maria still got a B after all that and Tabitha got a C+.

Arena 77 stands, Whateley Academy.

The guy who talked that creepy was a plainclothes officer, that would throw me off. And it is a combat final, if her parents can't accept a C+ for her first freshman combat final they need to see how it went down and how brutal some of the others were.

Thursday morning, December 8, 2016,
Underclassmen Combat Finals, Arena 99, Whateley Academy.

Ophidian aka Ekene against...oh no, not him. He is going to annoy her, I just know it.

The Whitmaniac section of the stands.

Faollass asks about Weak vs. Voodoo, oof, MCO interview going on and on so you zone out, I would make stuff up at that point myself to get the interviewer to shut up.

Ack! That is what Max looks like, he certainly stands out in a crowd. Exemplar and gadgeteer, what is his specialization? *cringes* No, everyone doesn't love Barry Manilow.

Three weeks earlier,
Combat Finals planning session.

Staff Sergeant Ryan Wilson, no, you don't want to know what Max was thinking when you chose that codename. Upcoming Christmas show, great, no way to prevent him from being recognized. What skill did Max master that the Bricks in Lillian Dennon's Brick class could work on?

"He hasn't been asked to dress up in a stage show costume for any known jobs, legal or otherwise."

Okay, how the heck did that happen? Dress him up and put on a show, Ito has a great idea while not being a sadistic old imp for once. Tweetie Bird costume, noooo! You just had to get Imp involved.

Today,
Briefing Room 3, Arena 99.

Max sometimes looks older than some of the school's staff, I hope he doesn't abuse that. 12 years old! I thought he was at least 14. Yes, I'm with Wilson on this one, just give Ekene an A and send her on her way. They have to switch their outfits and gear, they better not have gone with the Tweetie Bird costume. Max gets an explorer's pith helmet and tropical linen outfit, just what is the set-up of this? Ekene gets a leather aviator's jacket and brown fedora with six strategic holes in it for her snakes.

Shoot, I have no idea what their costumes are referencing. Couldn't be Stanley and Livingstone movie as I don't think there is a breaking into a dig site. Break into a dig site and bring back a certain item of importance, and Ekene says they work as a team. Ah, she knows the movies, and going solo is a bad idea.

Arena 99, Max

Max and Ekene bolt from the cantina, and Max is concerned about no traffic on the road. A lump of pliable stuff thrown at a disturbed patch and boom! Minefield. A good plan for getting out of there, and yes, right now he isn't being paranoid enough, Ekene.

Glow-in-the-dark rainbow hair is handy, but crap for stealth if too bright. So near their target and yet a guard to deal with now.

Oh, his hair changes colors based on his mood, it seems. Max distracts as Ekene bites the guy and the ANT 'dies'. Get in close before changing plans and Ekene, you get to play Laura Croft, it is risky, but it is exciting.

Ekene.

Stella's middle name is Jean, cute. Ekene's bought that kind of smoke grenade at the Weapons Fair, now that is a very useful holdout. Ouch! Whoever designed those rocks will pay.

Combat Finals support channel.

Does Icejack have a roommate named Peter, he was listed as Peter in an earlier scene and now as Thomas 'Icejack' Raiford. Idiots trying those tactics to attack the local network during the combat finals, good grief, what fools. Icejack still thinks Benjamin is straight, heh. No, Cyberkitty, that junior deserved that. Lady Sally, good to see her around. All this is to keep Max's identity from being leaked due to the combat finals.

Cave site, Ekene.

German guard saying "What? A black one?" Is this whole thing an Indiana Jones-themed adventure, Max and Ekene's costumes threw me off. Quick takedown by Ekene, all her training has worked. gold-plated trophy, okay, now I'm certain this is an Indiana Jones-themed adventure.

Base camp, Max.

Flashbang and smoke, Max, you made it hard for your opponents but also for yourself. For a 12-year-old he has a brutal combat style, learned from Yuki and Benjamin I bet. Ekene is happy to see you, only if you haven't led enemies right to her.

Ekene?

Yikes! Even with a tougher-than-normal body that has to hurt a lot. Barely conscious, tucked into the seat of a vehicle, asked if she is going to be okay by Max. Regen, but she needs food, Max has field rations, better than nothing. And they got the statue, now to get back safely before the time limit is up.

Arena 99, "Rick's Cantina."

Ekene shows up to drop off the statue to Wilson in style and he tries to pull a twist saying the closing bell hasn't rung yet. She beats him to saying it, his minions being dealt with, and she and Max ride off towards the arena exit together.

Combat Finals support channel.

Lady Sally and Belvedere need time to return control of outbound cables to whoever had them last.

Thomas Raiford asked, "How many combat finals are spoofed or processed each year?"

Cyberkitty shrugged but said, "The control team gets the raw feed, and the on-campus spectators see what they see. Other than that, we do what we have to to protect the security of students and staff. Sometimes, we broadcast a training match recorded from the VR combat sims instead of a final. As long as the outcomes look equal to the gambling houses, it's not like they're entitled to anything from us."

Another secret of the combat finals and the gambling involved is revealed. Aww, the school only gets a cut from that one source.

"Don't ask inconvenient questions — got it."

"Not if you don't want me to dock your grade for excess naiveté."

Hehe, I like Cyberkitty, she has grown up to be a great member of the school staff.

Briefing Room 3, Arena 99.

Staff Sergeant Wilson and Ito are there, let's hear the rundown of their combat final. Hehe, Ekene learns Max's last name is Livingston. They know about certain things from his past due to the cover tracks his agent had him record, how? Max objectively analyzes his own actions in the combat final, one of the few students I've seen able to do that. The reason for Max keeping climbing gear at school is sound. B if they work on their rough spots, C if they don't, and feedback from their teachers during the Spring Term to determine if they have, eep. Ito, why do you have to be so ominous like that?

Outside the Arena.

Max is leaving, not staying to watch the other combat finals. Ekene wishes to ask Max some questions; why isn't he watching the matches if this is right up his alley? It is kind of all the same to him, his life before was that exciting the combat finals are all the same, now that is scary. The things Max did to afford to go to Whateley are the things Ekene's family moved from Kenya to get away from. To talk about surviving in a war zone, there is PTSD, trauma so deep most people will never understand. Luck can't get everyone out alive, but I'm glad Ekene's survived that combat final. Without Max, she could have walked right onto a mine.

A great story and a lot of catching up with characters we haven't seen in a while. With all the connections to Benjamin, I almost forgot how many people he has saved and how many of them are now at Whateley. It was fun seeing new students like Hadrian, seeing them work on their powers. Seeing them have classes together, and work on Halloween costumes. Then the Halloween party, I should have suspected the mysterious figure from earlier did something, but until it came up again I didn't figure out he most likely cast a spell to make people susceptible to acting like their costumes.

It was a fun Halloween, even Sun Wukong showing up, though is he the one who cast the spell or was it someone else? As he/she seemed to behave during the party. The Darby brothers, I can't believe there are people like that still around in this day and age, willing to pick fights over a war that ended over 140 years ago. Or do they just like picking fights to be assholes?

The combat finals were interesting. I should have seen Soundout's doublecross coming, but she was supposed to be learning teamwork, and showing you are willing to doublecross an ally is a horrible idea in the military circles. I at first thought the Ekene and Max combat final was an Indiana Jones reference, but their costumes threw me off. The German officer with his talk of a black one, as in a snake, and the golden statue, made it clear it was one. Nice work with the Star Wars and other references in the story.

Great work, null and everyone else who worked on this story. 2nd longest Whateley story I've commented on. I can't wait to see more of everyone in the future.