" Ah. The first day of the new year. I just love getting to crush the hopes and dreams of children, and get payed for it. " Sean Pendleton sighed dramatically, looking over towards his fellow freshman coach, the former Mr. Volt.
The other coach merely rolled his eyes, used to the heavy sarcasm that the man used as a mask for his actual emotions. " Let's get on with it Sean. Can't leave the kiddies waiting. "
The two walked in silence for the last few yards, then opened the door to the gym, and stepped into the pool of waiting freshman. Making their way to the small stage that held the dean and the other professors they looked over the faces in the room, gauging the emotions. Fear was a common one, followed closely by cocky disregard. That would fade soon enough. A few were determined, which was good. Three faces stood out to Professor Fletcher though, and he soon realized it was the three students that had been admitted under... Special circumstances. Those three were ready, fearless, with just a hint of determination thrown in. He shouldn't be surprised, those three had faced situations far scarier than this. But it did merit keeping a close watch on them, just in case.
NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO
Penny
Today was the day! I have to admit I was almost excited, aside from the small mental breakdown that Ray had walked me through last night. This was the first step to getting back to work, and having something resembling my normal life back. I hadn't realized it until it was torn away from me, but my life back home was completely based on my hero work. Al my friends, all my family, and all my efforts were poured into my hero persona, and now that it was gone i had nothing to fill that gap. This was a way for me to get back to work, and I relished the idea of having any sense of normality.
"CLaIre! Get up ! It's almost time to go down to orientation! " I tried to keep my bellow somewhat subdued, but from the look Stacy shot me I suspected I may have failed...
Claire finally emerged from her room, looking stunning per usual. I was still slightly offended that my power refused to repeat the super cheerleader serum. Not only did Claire stay in supernaturally good shape, but she never needed the tiniest touch of makeup, her skin just stayed perfect.
" I'm coming! I just wanted to look perfect for any boys I might meet downstairs! You never know when Mr. Right will show up! " Claire had let her character mellow out a bit, but she was still playing up the " ditzy blond who is way to cheerful " aspect of herself.
"Oh hi Stacy! You look amazing today! I love that scarf! If that silk? It looks so chic and expensive! " Claire made her way over to our new roomie and friend and started examining the materiel, which did look beautiful.
Not that I was a fashion expert, my clothes gave that away in no time. I just hoped my hair would stay in one place today. I had learned to put it into a tight braid to help eliminate it coming down in combat, but nothing was perfect.
"It is silk. You have a good eye Claire. It's my lucky scarf, and I figure that today I need all the luck I can get." Stacy had loosened up a little, no doubt due to Claire's disarming presence. Well, honestly I think putting someone shy around Claire is like throwing them into the deep end of the pool. They'll learn to swim quickly, but the first few minutes is stressful. Thankfully Stacy had started swimming in no time.
" I can't wait! I may not be a fighter, but I love to watch a good brawl! Wrestling is my jam! " Claire stopped fondling Stacy's scarf, and moved on to putting on her own shoes, a pair of heels that gave me back pain just looking at them.
" Are you going to wear those downstairs? Heels may not be the best idea for a day of fighting... " as she spoke Stacy adjusted the bag on her shoulder, which was obviously heavy, even for someone as fit as her.
" I've got flats, but I want to make a good first impression on my new classmates, if you know what I mean. " Claire winked suggestively at the more stoic Stacy,making her meaning very clear.
"Are you all ready to go down? " Jessica asked, walking briskly out of her own room. She had a strange belt with dozens of tiny pouches tossed over her shoulder.
Claire got the question out before I could, turning to Jessica with another beaming smile. " OOh what's with the utility belt? Is that for our HCP activities? "
" I keep some of my seeds in here. It let's me get easy access to whatever I need without digging into a bunch of random pockets hoping I get the right one. This puts them all in order! " Jessica seemed almost as cheerful as Claire, and I couldn't tell if that was a good sign, or if it meant that I was going to be dragged on more shopping trips. Either way it was nice to see her feeling good, especially considering the stress that came with the HCP.
" Don't worry Penny, Jessica is almost as anti-shopping as you are, just for different reasons. Are you all ready to head down to the HCP? " Mary had stepped into the room, and literally taken the question out of my head. I still hadn't got used to living with the telepath, but I could definitely see why she was majoring in psychology.
" I think so! I can't wait, it's so exciting, like a spy movie or something! Did you get Ray on your way over? I wouldn't want him to be late to the first day. " Claire had gracefully skated over the obvious use of telepathy, and still stayed innocuous. This was why I was just the tiny bit scared of my friend. You could never tell exactly what she was thinking, or what her motives were. Well, Mary could, maybe, but the rest of us were in the dark until Claire decided we should know.
"I did Claire. Penny don't forget your bag, you'll want all your toys in the combat trials. Claire, I think you're forgetting something as well." Mary was right, I would definitely need my toys if I wanted any hope of making a good impression. I already had them packed into a regular looking gym bag, I just needed to grab them.
"You're right! I still have Ray's night-night stick! He'll probably want that today. " Claire turned and dashed back to her room, thumb scanning in record time, and Claire returning with the little black pouch dad had made for Ray in hand. The night stick was an almost normal baton, just waaayyy heavier than any policeman would want to lug around. Of course Claire made it look like nothing, but I ignored that. I mean, I really tried to ignore that. Some days I wanted to give my superpower a piece of my mind...
" Alright everyone, let's get down there." Mary promptly turned and made her way to the door, opening it and striding through with earned confidence. I still didn't know what Mary's story was, but I knew that she was far more than just a normal college student turned HCP grad student.
Mary passed the other door, turning quickly to call for Ray. " Ray, come on, we're heading down to orientation. "
Ray strode briskly through the door, dressed in his usual black clothes, a look he had never moved on from. I was totally fine with that. Sooo fine with that. He looked good in anything, but the black made him look good and dangerous, like a panther turned human.
Ray glided over to me, his superhuman grace on full display. " My darling Penny. You look amazing as usual. " He turned to face the others in our little group. " And good morning to you all. I hope I haven't made us late? "
"Not at all. I just wanted to be sure that everyone caught my demonstration on the lift system, so I don't hear any excuses about it later. " Mary had started walking again, heading for the kitchen. Once she arrived she moved to the wall mounted oven, and adjusted the temperature to 1163 degrees Fahrenheit, and placed her hand on the metal handle meant to open the oven door. With that done the pantry door to the right swung open, and revealed an elevator, not a collection of non-perishable food items.
"As you can see the lift can only be opened by the combination of a pass code, and a bio-metric match specific to you, or your fellow HCP students. However the other students will not be made aware of this door unless you all decide to do so, for privacy reasons. You can also return to the dorm via this lift, though I recommend going with the regular lifts as to not tip your hand. Coming up this lift is only possible if the bio-metric component belongs to you five, myself, or a member of the HCP staff. Other students will not be able to access your home without your permission. " Mary turned away from the oven-turned-mad-science-device and stared at each of us.
" Please do not be tempted to abuse this system, as it can easily be cut off. This is here for the sole reason that the other students also have lifts in their own dorms. Now, let's get going. " Mary strode into the elevator, which I noticed was far larger than our pantry had been.
My power liked what it had seen, and started gibbering about the different ways it could be done, but I ignored it as usual. I did not need to get into trouble for messing with inter-dimensional pockets. Maybe next year after I had some good will built up with the professors. That seemed to calm her down, and the noise faded away to its usual endless muttering in the back of my head.
We piled into the elevator after Mary, and I noticed Claire slipping Ray his Night-night stick. He never let go of my hand, but the little black pouch disappeared into his pocket. The elevator ride took longer than I expected, but it shouldn't have been a surprise. This was a training ground for some of the most powerful people on the planet, it made sense to put a large buffer between us and the normal humans that were just trying to make it through their classes.
The elevator stopped smoothly, and the doors opened without a sound. The engineering on these were top notch, unsurprisingly. Our little group stepped out into a long ( like really, really long ) hallway, and we followed Mary on the journey to orientation. The halls were a bland grey, made up of some materiel that almost resembled concrete, but I knew from the little voice in the back of my head was far stronger, and a lot weirder.
We walked in silence, the huge hall being somewhat intimidating. Not to mention this was the first day of our HCP careers, and that we were going to be thrown into a trial by combat later this morning. It was a lot to take in, but the Inscrutable Machine and I had been through worse than this. Jessica seemed to be taking it all in without a problem, still walking with a smile on her face, and confidence in her step. Stacy on the other hand had gone stoic, almost cold, in our way down the elevator. Claire had told Ray and I that she suspected Stacy had a parent or parents in the hero world, and I agreed. She was determined, and not showing off the fear I imagined most "normal" kids would have walking into this situation.
After a walk that seemed longer than it really was ( according to my super secret mad science tech, a wrist watch ) we appeared in another hallway, this one a crowded mess of students. We joined the horde in their march, heading to a huge set of double doors, our apparent destination. The group was both loud and subdued. No one spoke above a whisper, but the combined mass of shuffling feet created a dull roar in the not-concrete hallway.
Finally arriving at the doors Mary spoke to our little clique. " I'll be with Dr. Moran today, but I'm keeping an ear on you all. Be safe, and show the others why you were accepted, not only to the HCP, but to Lander. Kick some ass. " With that she strode towards the stage, meeting another woman in a smart pantsuit, and going to a pair of seats that were probably assigned to them ahead of time.
Claire turned to Jessica and Stacy. " Would you two like to sit with us? We're going to stick together for now, but we'd love to have you both along! "
I wasn't sure what Claire had going on, but I trusted her, so I nodded to the other girls, smiling and making sure they knew they were welcome.
Jessica responded immediately. " I think I will join you guys. It's nice to have friends in a new place like this. "
Ray and I turned to look at Stacy, who shook her head. "I really like you four, but I want to meet some new people. See you guys later? "
"Of course! " Claire said, still smiling at the girl. " I plan on making some connections my self tonight at the party! We'll be sure to meet back up with you then! "
"Sounds good. " Stacy gave Claire a small grin, and marched into the crowd.
" Well let's get some seats, this thing is due to start in a few minutes. " Claire led our own charge, on the hunt to find four open chairs.
Eventually we did find seats, and we all sat in a collective sigh of relief, each holding a bag, or in Jessica's case, and big belt. We had barely made it in time, the first speaker, and pretty, but rather unassuming red-haired woman stepping to the podium. I recognized her figure from our first time down here. This was our Dean, and the person who would ultimately decide if we graduated or not.
" Welcome freshman to your first day of HCP training. There are several things to address before we begin the day. The first and most important is that most of you will not make it past the first year. Out of those that do make it into the second year of training only ten will graduate. We accepted 67 people into this years freshman class. Take a look around, and realize that only ten of you will graduate." The dean spoke with clarity and confidence, but the others in the room had gone dead silent.
" Please remember that these are the odds you are fighting against, and that if you do not constantly surpass your best then you will not be one of the ten who graduates from the Lander HCP. I expect great things from you all. Now, onto the business at hand. Today you will all be competing in a single elimination combat trial to assess your skills, and to give you your starting combat ranking." A small murmur of uncertainty ran through the other students at those words from the dean, though there were a few notable exceptions. I saw one boy visibly roll his eyes at the distress of his classmates. Ray gave my hand a slight squeeze, but didn't take his eyes off the dean.
" We at the HCP do understand that combat is not the only thing hero needs to excel at, but it is what most heroes end up specializing in, so we will be testing for combat skills across all of our students. There is also the matter of the secret identity rule that we have in place for all HCP students. This was clearly explained in the packets you were given before arriving on campus, but since we have already had one student get dropped from the program due to his insistence on giving a super-powered light show to his dorm mates I will be reminding you all once more. Use of your powers above ground is not forbidden, but every Lander student has the ability to report a student to the administration office if they are seen using superhuman abilities. These reports must be accompanied by a detailed account, and are taken seriously. If you are reported by a student with a legitimate claim you will be removed from the HCP. The circumstances of the power use do not matter. That is not to say I expect you all to sit by and do nothing if you see a person in need, but I admonish you all to think before you jump into a situation that may require use of your powers. Try to solve any issues through mundane means. This rule is in place for two reasons. The first and most obvious is to give you a clean slate for your potential hero career. Should you graduate you will most likely keep a secret identity, and this is excellent practice for living like a mundane human. The second reason is to force you to think, and to try and come up with ways around power usage. As a hero you will need to constantly think outside the box, and this gives you an opportunity to start now."
I had known about the secret identity rule of course, but to know that someone had already been removed for it, before the first day had even started was a bit jarring. I was confident in my ability to keep my power under wraps, but the last thing I wanted was to be kicked out for a dumb slip up.
The dean charged ahead in her speech, seemingly ignorant the discomfort she had caused in her new student body. " Lastly before the combat trials I want to introduce you to the coaches that will be training you, should you make it through the day. "
With that two men stepped forward, both familiar to me, for different reasons. One was obviously the larger man that had been there for our admissions test. The other was Sean Pendleton. I knew Sean would be training us, but I hadn't known he was going to be teamed up with the older man for the training.
"These are the freshman coaches, Coach Pendleton, and Coach Fletcher. Coach Pendleton will handle your alternative training, and Coach Fletcher will handle your combat training. If you both would like a chance to introduce ourselves and say a few words? " The dean stepped away from the podium, letting Sean Pendleton take her place.
" Good morning fresh meat. I am Coach Pendleton, and I will be showing you all exactly how weak you are. I don't care who was big boy on the block back home, here I am the one you should fear. I look forward to seeing who has the guts to make it through the combat trials, and who quits the HCP before I even get started on you. " Sean stepped away, letting the older gentleman take the microphone. He was obviously the bad cop of the two, and he played the part well. I wasn't able to see any of the usual sarcasm he wore, though I was sure it was lurking under that mask he wore.
" I am Coach Fletcher. Welcome to the hardest thing any of you have ever done. Today I and the other HCP professors will be overseeing your trials. These will determine your combat ranking, and that will soon determine whether or not you will be in the combat class or the alternative class. Both are equally valid, but if you have your heart set on being a certain type of hero then this is your chance to prove you're up to snuff. Before we begin splitting you up I want to remind anyone who's power uses or is augmented by outside equipment that it will need to be double checked by either Coach Pendleton or I before you are allowed to use it in the combat trials. I also want to remind you all that any sort of lethal force is strictly prohibited. If you use such force you will automatically lose your fight, be removed from the HCP, and have possible charges filed against you. What lethal force is will change from match to match, so be smart, and be careful. "
The combat coach walked to stand next to his partner, and the Dean stepped to the podium once more. I was a little unnerved by the lethal force warning, but I guess it had to be said.
"Thank you both for those edifying words to our students. We will now be splitting you up by sex, and the screens in the back of the room will direct you to your first round. The combat cells are clearly marked, and failure to appear at your cell on time will result in an automatic match loss. The first round will begin in fifteen minutes, so please begin making your way to the cell you and your opponent have been assigned to. The professors will be here for the next ten minutes to approve any outside equipment. " With those parting words the dean walked to the back of the room and disappeared through a door that led... Somewhere. I didn't really have time to think about it, I needed to get my babies checked over, and get to my room. I was not going to lose by default.
Heading to the front of the room where the two Coaches stood stoically, Ray and Jessica behind me, I clutched my gym bag, doing my best to stay calm and stoic. I wasn't scared, but I did have the pre-fight adrenaline rush that never seemed to stop, even after years of combat. I got to the professor, or coaches, whichever, first, and headed to Coach Pendleton. I unzipped my bag on the way over, readying my self to explain the contents.
" I see you came prepared. Congratulations on not making the same mistake a good deal of our technological genius students seem to make. " Sean was still the bad cop, but it didn't matter for my purposes. I just needed him to OK my toys for the trial.
" I'll take that as a complement, I guess." I said with a good bit of snark in my voice. He wasn't going to reveal that we knew each other, so I would do the same. That didn't mean I as going to let him be a jerk and get away with it...
"Don't. It just shows that you don't have the same idiot-savant problem a lot of kids with your talent come in here with. What have you got for me today?" He leaned to look into the bag I was carrying.
" The usual. You all should have it on record, I'm not trying anything new out today. I have my suit, its built in weapons systems, Vera, my teleport bracers, and my machine. Plus some metal for the machine to eat. " I kept my voice low, not wanting to give anything away to potential competitors, but he clearly heard me, since he nodded his head quickly.
" I've read the briefs on all of those. I hope I don't need to remind you that some of what your packing can be lethal against certain opponents? "
" So can a fist, or a rock off the ground. I would never put an innocent person at risk by misusing my weapons, and I think you know that. I wouldn't be allowed in here if that wasn't true." I spoke in the same low voice, but I wasn't going to give ground. I was no killer, and I was not going to take any insinuation that I might be lying down.
Sean looked at me for a moment, and nodded. " You're right, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't mention that fact. you're approved. Now get out of my hair. "
I shook my head at the mans words, but I still grabbed my bag and headed for the back of the room. Ray was waiting for me in the rows of chairs, and I grabbed his hand as we walked to the screens that held our fate. " Did Coach Fletcher give you any trouble for your Night-Night stick? " I asked him quietly.
" No, just a warning about lethal force, and a recommendation to go for the extremities. I assured him I would be careful, and he approved me for the matches. " Ray spoke lowly too, more than smart enough to realize the value of information, both to us and our opponents.
" Good. You're downright scary with that thing. " I said, giving him a wink.
We got to the screens quickly, but the crowd around them was still thick. Claire was there, mid crowd, and chatting up a pretty Asian girl. As we tried to make our way through the crush of people to the screens I heard a loud grunt, and cough. A tall, good looking guy had shoved another boy, shorter, and a bit heavy in his attempt to get to the screens.
"Get out of the way fatty! Some of us real contenders need to see who we're about to smash into the ground. You'd be better off not going to the first round. Hell, you'd be better off just walking away now. Come back when you're not doing a dough boy cosplay!" The taller teen laid into the other boy with a force I was honestly shocked by. This was supposed to be a training ground for heroes, not a place for the bullies of the world to come learn how to punch harder.
I was mid step, heading to intercept the next shove, when Claire appeared in front of the taller guy, frown firmly in place. " And just what do you think your doing Mr? ! "
She looked angry, and I could tell that this wasn't a fake, she was not having the taller boys bullying.
"I'm just trying to give fatty here some good advice. Look at him sweetheart, he doesn't belong here. He belongs in a weight-watchers meeting. " The tall boy didn't have any idea the hellfire he was calling down on himself. Claire had never been one to tolerate bullies, and she never had been. All the way back to middle school Claire had been nice to everyone, and that police hadn't changed.
"Back off asshat! He's not doing anything to you! And don't call me sweetheart. I'd rather date a rotting corpse before I'd go with someone like you. " Claire turned away from the taller man, towards the person he'd been abusing.
Before she could get there the taller man spoke again. " Dumb bitch. I can't wait to see you wash out with the rest of the weaklings. "
That was a bad. Really bad. Like, might as well have just set yourself on fire bad. Ray tensed next to me, ready to spring into action to protect Claire. Or maybe to punch out the guy she was about to destroy. Claire always got her revenge. I just had to wait and see how she did it.
Claire slowly turned back to the now dead man walking. I felt her power surge over the crowd, and she glowered at him in the most adorable way I could imagine. Slowly she reached into her purse and grabbed a marker. I recognized it as one of Will's special markers. The kind that only came off after 72 hours, or with the application of a solution he had also created.
" What's your name? " She said in the sweetest, fakest voice I could imagine.
"Ah-uh... Andy?" The boy stuttered out.
" You know Andy, you're pretty good looking. But I just love a man with facial hair. You would look sooooo nice with a good mustache. Maybe even a beard. What do you think about that, Andy? " She smiled at the man, and I knew what she was planning. The rest of the crowd was silent, entranced by her power. I could feel it strongly, but I had years of immunity built up to it.
" You? YOu think that'd look good?" Andy muttered out, completely under her spell.
"I do, Andy. Why don't you draw one on, at least until your balls drop enough to grow one on your own. " She handed the bewitched boy the marker, and he proceeded to go to town on his face. He got a full beard on, like old Amish man beard, before Claire took back the marker.
"Thanks Andy. I really think that's a good look for you. " With that she turned, grabbed the shorter boy's hand, and pranced to the door, heading to her first round match.
After a few seconds the mental fog cleared, and Andy came back to himself.
"What the FUCK ! What was that shit! Why did no one stop her! WHat the Hell! ? " Andy bellowed, looking around, and rubbing at his face, unable to understand what had just happened.
"That is what happens when you fuck with people in the HCP. Everyone here got i for a reason, including that boy you were accosting. I would recommend not attempting to bully any one else in my program, or you will regret it far more than you can imagine. But I believe that the three days of extra gym class will give you some time to let your imagination run wild. I look forward to seeing you this weekend. " Coach Pendleton walked through the still shell shocked crowd, and went in the direction of the combat cells.
"Aren't you going to punish that bitch for what she did to me?! " Andy yelled, causing Pendleton to turn around.
" Punish her? I don't see why. She did what you're all here to train for. She protected someone else. And I would thank her if I were you. Her punishment saved you from a full week of extra gym sessions with me. " The coach turned once more, and this time left with no more interruptions.
The crowd around Ray and I started to move again, everyone remembering that they still had to get to their own trials.
I turned to my boyfriend. " That is why you never mess with a Lutra. "
Ray nodded. " I assure you that I have no plans of doing so. And I doubt anyone else does after that show. "
" You're right. She'll probably be mad that she showed off her power so soon, but I think it might be worth it in the long run. It certainly shows the teachers what she can do. " Ray just nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.
We got to the board soon enough, and found our respective rooms. Ray leaned in, and planted a kiss on my face. " I know you'll do well, oh dark lady. "
I kissed him back, and we parted, each to our own challenge.
NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO
I did make a quick stop to change into my suit. I wasn't about to face down foes with incredible power and not have my first line of defense on. That done I got to my room seconds before the door swung shut, and found it already occupied by a mousy looking girl. She was nervous, extremely nervous. I noted the knife strapped to her thigh. It wouldn't do much against my armored body, but it may help against another opponent. On her other leg was a small black box, but I couldn't figure out what was inside...
She saw me, and giggled. A small bubbly sound, it seemed to help wipe away some of her fears. " You look like you're out of a star wars movie!"
I smiled under my visor, glad that she was loosening up. " Thank you! I take any star wars reference as a complement. I'm Penny, by the way. "
"Katya." She replied, still smiling from the storm trooper joke.
" Nice to meet you Katya. I wish you luck. " I tried to be polite, but I had to keep in mind that I needed to beat this girl, and then we could be friends later.
A voice crackled over a hidden loudspeaker, drawing my eye to the definitely-not-glass window that was above us."Please step forward and shake hands. " Now that I looked up I could see just how huge the room was. That was good though. Lots of room to maneuver, and the high ceilings meant that I could take to the air if needed. Katya and I shook, and the speaker buzzed again.
"This is a reminder to keep any attacks non-lethal. A healer will be provided after each round for both competitors. The match will end when one party is unconscious, unable to move for three consecutive minutes, when one party concedes the match, or anytime I decide that the match cannot continue. You may begin at any time. "
With that I dove into my belt pouch and activated Vera. She was my best defense, and against armored opponents she made a great offense.
I looked up from grabbing Vera to see Katya unsheathing her knife. I expected her to come at me, but instead she drove the knife into her own arm, drawing a good bit of blood, but not disabling the limb. Katya took a deep shuddering breath, re-sheathing the knife with one hand, and drawing out a handful of... something from her other pouch.
I couldn't tell what they were, but they didn't look that dangerous. I felt bad going on the offensive against the smaller girl, but I needed to prove my worth here, so I took a small step forward and teleported. I re-materialized behind Katya, and said the BRENDA " Bring up the night-night gun, small dose, manual targeting. "
As I was giving BRENDA her orders Katya dipped her fingers in the blood dripping down her arm. I watched, honestly curious more than anything, as she took a white card out of the stack she was holding and smeared the blood onto it. As soon as she did so she staggered for just a moment, and CrimminY! A tiger appeared next her. A real life, definitely in my face, totally there tiger. She turned towards me, and sat down, looking paler than she had when our fight started.
The next thing I knew the tiger was headed towards me, and I did an almost instinctive teleport. I appeared in the back corner of the room, as far away from the TIGER as I could. I tried to keep my eyes on the tiger, but I knew Katya was my opponent here. "Brenda, you target the tiger, but try to keep it non-lethal. If that's a real animal I want it to live through this. " I focused on Katya as the tiger tried to figure out just what had happened. It soon turned in my direction, but this time it came slowly, in more of a prowl than a charge.
Katya, however, was shuffling through the stack of cards in her hand. Index cards maybe? She grabbed the one she had been looking for, and smeared blood on it again. As soon as her blood touched the card a loud BANG! filled my ears. Bars filled my vision now, and looking around I realized a cage had surrounded me, heavy metal bars on all sides. I didn't know how she had done it, but Katya had made a tiger and a cage appear from no where.
I yelled out as soon as I realized what had happened . " Vera, melt the bars! "
A quick flash of light and heat later and the bars that used to be in front of me were now a pile of melted metal and slag on the floor. Brenda took advantage of a clear line of sight and sent two quick shots off the night night gun, straight into the tiger. It collapsed almost immediately, the drugs taking hold amazingly quickly.
"I concede ! I concede! I can't do any more ! " Katya yelled as soon as she realized the tiger had gone down to the drugs.
I froze immediately, remembering the rules of the fight. The speaker buzzed again, voice still bored. " Penny Ack is the winner of this fight. A healer will be in to inspect and patch you both up in just a moment. "
I walked towards the girl, who looked like she had gone through a lot worse than a cut on the arm. " Are you ok? No offense but you look awful. "
She nodded at me, sitting down next to the sleeping tiger. " I'll be ok in a minute. My power takes a lot of energy to use. I can't do more than two or three big summons at a time. "
" Do you mind me asking how you did that? I don't want to be nosy, but that was crazy to see. " I tried to not sound too eager, but I realllllyyy wanted to know what kind of power could do what I'd just seen.
" It's fine. My power is turning words into things. I have to get blood on it though. Once the word has my blood on it I can focus and make it appear. If it's something alive, like the tiger, I can have it do what I want it to. " She was starting to get some color back, but still looked really bad.
The description of her power reminded me a lot of the librarian. She could bring books to life, and control the characters. I didn't even want to think about how strong Katya could be if she even got half of the Librarians power.
"That's an amazing power. I knew a lady once who could bring books to life, kinda like you do. She was insanely powerful. I think that if you keep working your power will be super strong one day. It's already impressive. I was only able to beat it because my own toys let me get around the obstacles you threw out. I know that there are certain things you could do that would stomp me into paste. " I wanted to encourage the girl, since she had suffered a loss on her first day. She seemed like a good person, and the type I would want to be a hero. She obviously wasn't here for glory or fame, she wanted to help people.
Katya seemed to perk up at that, which was good. I'd have felt awful having her drop out on the first day just because I'd beat her. " You really think I'll be that good one day? "
"I think you'll be a powerhouse if you train hard. Just keep working on it!" She smiled at me again, and a rough looking older boy in a grey uniform walked in.
"Who needs healing first? " He asked brusquely, not seeming to notice the obvious wound on Katya's arm.
" She does, I'm fine. " I told him in my best no-nonsense voice. As if the bleeding gash on Katya's arm wasn't a big enough give away.
"Fine." He grunted, and knelt in front of her. His hands started to glow, and he seemed to flick a glowing orb at the wound on her arm. As soon as it touched her she seemed to relax, arm going limp.
"Thanks. That part of my power always sucks. " Katya seemed genuinely grateful, despite the older boy having the same bedside manner as Mourning Dove.
"No problem. You ok? " He asked turning to me, hands still glowing.
"Yeah, all good. Thanks for patching her up. " I didn't like the way he acted, but it was a good idea to keep anyone with healing powers on your side.
He stood, and headed for the door, his patients apparently forgotten.
"Well he was a delight." I said as the door closed behind him.
Katya giggled. "Maybe not the nicest person, but he got me fixed up, so I'm OK with him. "
"At least he does his job. Come on, let's get you some water and a place to sit. You still look pale. " I helped Katya out of the room, and we headed for the conference room. I still needed to get to my next match, but I wanted to be sure my new friend ( I hope? Maybe? Ish?) was good to go.
I may have won this round, but there was still plenty to go.
NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO
Detective Corey Walsh walked into the house, already surrounded with a police perimeter, caution tape, and the needed crime scene investigators. Still technically a detective, even when working under the authority of the FBI and DVA, Corey had kept the title for two reasons. The first was a reminder of what he was there to do, and the second was simply because people seemed to react better to police than to federal agents.
Corey was working as an investigator, and he planned to keep it that way. The Heroes may be the popular ones with the public, but they were essentially a combo of SWAT and wet-work with some disaster relief thrown in (when there was time to spare). He was thankful for the heroes, and what they did, but he had no illusions that they were in the same field.
Working under federal agencies as part of a task-force had been an interesting change. Originally a cop in Boston ( and a damn good one), Corey had seen a lot, but had been responsible for relatively little area. Now he worked all over the country with a team comprised of supers and humans, working on cases that involved variant humans and crossed state or district lines. Recruited for his skills as a super and as a detective Corey was not excited to leave his home, but he understood the potential good such a team could offer.
Before this team had started all investigation into variant human criminal activity had been done through the DVA. The issue with that method was the general lack of funds the DVA was allowed. No one wanted to admit it but the DVA did more work with less resources than the FBI and CIA. Working with the FBI had been a way to access their resources, and their people. Supers could be an arrogant lot, and some of the best investigators and CSI people he had ever worked with had been mundane humans. The FBI and DVA had run a recruitment effort through both agencies, NSA, CIA, and even looked through police records to scout for recruits in local police forces.
The end result was a team of twelve, divided into two units, capable of working together or separately. Heroes were the ones who actively fought supers or powereds, but his team had the authority to investigate and make arrests in cases against variant individuals, or in cases where the suspects were variant humans. They called in heroes when they had likely hostiles or offenders with violent pasts, but many cases they worked never saw hero involvement.
This was turning into a case that Corey dearly hoped would see hero involvement. A serial kidnapper had been operating for the past two years, and his team suspected that the victims were then sold to human trafficking rings. All the victims had been variant humans, 18 in total, with ten supers, three powereds, and five so young that there hadn't been testing establishing which side of the spectrum they lay on. Evidence was scarce, but the lack of witnesses, along with the fact that none of the kidnappers had been killed( or at least none had left behind any evidence of it ) pointed to supers abducting these children systematically.
No bodies had ever been recovered, and no witnesses had ever reported seeing the children again. They were simply gone. This case had always frustrated Corey. It was the one of the first cases he had taken on with this team, and it had been ongoing since they had formed. Still they lacked any leads, but children kept disappearing.
He had started hearing noises about moving the investigation, either in whole or in part, to a hero team months back. He personally thought the idea was awful, but the more that children disappeared the more he was of the opinion that any help was good help. Corey honestly had no idea how adding some super-powered muscle to the search and investigation would benefit the team, but if the DVA thought it was necessary, then there was likely a reason.
Today Corey was confronted with yet another blank crime scene, and yet another missing child. This one had been 7 year old Cash Martin, a super with aberrant physical traits. In this case the missing child had appeared to have been made of some sort of rock, a trait that had appeared slowly over some years, according to medical records the foster parents had provided. The kid had been pulled out of school due to bullying, according to the foster parents. He had been living and studying in their home for the last two years, since it had become apparent that the child would likely not be able to control the transformation.
Still classified as a super, his earth manipulation abilities had been manifesting for as long as the rock like skin had started showing. With full control of his abilities, he was a super, but he would likely live with many of the same issues powereds did due to his... odd appearance. That was if he had any life at all. Corey shuddered at that thought. When they had arrived at the crime scene it had been entirely normal, not a thing out of place, no sign of any struggle, no sign that the budding elementalist had been scared or lashed out with his powers at all.
His family had been home at the time, Cash was simply finishing the days school work at his reinforced desk in the garage. The foster mother had gone to grab him for an early dinner, and he had been gone. The garage door had been covered when they converted it into a makeshift school room, and no one had seen or heard anything strange from the room in question. The child had simply vanished.
Corey walked into the house, meeting up with his own walking CSI lab, Brendon Havish. Brendon had greatly enhanced senses, which allowed him to analyze a great deal of evidence in minutes that would normally require a lab hours or days to work through. He had gone to school for forensics, and put that knowledge to good use for years at the FBI before being poached for Corey's joint team.
"Did we get anything this time? " Corey said so quietly that no human would hear without having their ear directly in front of his mouth. Brendon, of course, could have heard him say it from the street.
"Nothing at all. It's becoming maddeningly obvious that we're being outplayed here, and I am beyond frustrated with it. " Brendon spoke in a rather posh accent, thanks to his mothers British origins. " There were no smells outside the families own, no particulates, no footprints, not a hair, not even a drop of spittle. I honestly have no idea how these people are accomplishing these kidnappings, much less how they do it with a total lack of evidence."
Brendon also spoke softly, but within the range of Corey's human hearing. The taller, pseudo British man could spot the slightest scuff of a shoe, smell as well as a bloodhound, hear far beyond the human spectrum, and his taste and touch were similarly enhanced, but slightly less useful in their field.
" Shit. I have to call that in, it's pretty solid confirmation that we're dealing with the same person or team as the rest of these. " Corey turned to leave the house, and deal with the more than unpleasant task of informing his superiors that they had another victim, and no evidence.
"I cannot say that I envy you in that task, oh fearless leader. " Brendon spoke with a heavy amount of English sarcasm, letting his leader get to the task at hand.
Corey left, and promptly typed in the new 20 digit secure number that he memorized every week. His boss was not the type of person that you contacted on a whim, and she had no desire to make contacting her an easy experience.
"Ma'm, this is Corey Walsh. I have another disappearance on case 1163. Exactly like the others." Corey held his breath, never quite sure how his boss would react to any news, good or bad.
" I'm not surprised. I've had that case on my watch list for some time now. It seems it's time to call in extra resources. I will have the people I decide on contact you about how the case will proceed." With a click the phone disconnected, and all Corey could do was wait.
NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO
Jeremiah sat in the shabby apartment that was currently serving as a base of operations for modus operandi, pouring over files and photos on a bank of monitors that would throw off power for the whole building if they ran through the normal grid. To his side was Perception, typing away on a laptop that currently held more processing power than most businesses.
" Jeremiah , you have been assigned a new case to overlook. Please see the forwarded case file, and take action as soon as possible." The oddly accented voice of dispatch spoke over Jeremiah's earpiece, normally audible only to him, but Perception had obviously heard the order from the way she turned to look over at the team leader.
Perception had gotten into the habit of constantly piggybacking as much sensory input as she could manage, a habit that anyone who graduated the HCP would see as valuable training. Jeremiah saw it as a way for his team mate to constantly be in the loop on information he normally would not have been able to tell her, or at least not have been able to tell her immediately.
"Will do. Anything I should know that's not in the file, Dispatch? " Jeremiah enjoyed Dispatch, since she was one of the few people he had no need( or at least rarely needed ) to lie to.
"Only that the file is considered high priority by people high in the DVA ladder. I would advise making it a priority. "
"Thanks. We'll see to it. " Jeremiah turned to his teammate. " Any idea what this new shit show could be? "
"A few things have been bugging my DVA contacts, but nothing specific comes to mind. " Perception went back to her typing, but Jeremiah knew she would see the file as soon as he did. Technically a telepath, Perception had the ability to "Piggyback " onto other peoples and animals senses, and once connected she had the ability to manipulate those senses in any way she wished. She usually acted as an illusionist, but she also had the ability to overwhelm a persons olfactory receptors with foul smells, and even turn a persons sense of touch against them, causing extreme pain, up to the point of death. Definitely not a person to piss off.
That was before you included her skill with numbers. Specifically, algorithms and data processing. Perception had the ability to look at and find a way to convert huge data sets into usable information. It wasn't her only skill in subtlety, but the ability to write programs and algorithms capable of whittling down crime statistics and data points into patterns was what had drawn Jeremiah to her after she completed her internship. She was currently sifting through crime data on a drug ring run by teleporters out of mexico, doing geographical analysis and pattern recognition on the entry and selling points in hope of tracking down where the ring was run out of, and where the supply was made.
Jeremiah pulled up the file that hadn't been on his hard drive 45 seconds ago, and began to read. As he read all he could think was that he wished they had been called in sooner.
NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO