Zeitgeist Blue

The man snaps his head back to you in surprise and you see him open his mouth to say something but then changes his mind, and quickly turns away from you. You begin to move with quickening steps and you find yourself being carried by the crowd as you move closer to your destination. The crowd becomes denser, everyone shoving at each other and bodies mingling sweat and skin to fill your nostrils with the smell of unwashed bodies. Someone shoves an elbow into your ribs, sending a painful jolt up your body, and you don't have the time to reel before you're pushed from behind. "Hey! Get out of the way!" "Move it! Move it!" "This is not what the gods want!" "Save yourselves!" They shout over each other, caring nothing for jewelry they wore - be it animal bone earrings of a commoner or the jade necklace worn around a wealthy aristocrat. They shove yet you see the orange-bearded man a little further ahead, still a head taller than everyone else but thinner now, more gaunt, darker skinned than you first made him out to be. He lifts up a small girl from the ground and glances back towards you, an ornately carved bone piercing his nose. The robe he wears are like a parrot's feathers and painted with mud, though it does little to mar its resplendence. The girl, meanwhile, bears red-rimmed eyes from crying. Her hair is matted and untamed with dirt. She wears what could have been nice clothes but were now ripped and torn. Her doe-ish brown eyes follow the man's gaze to you and she sniffles. It seems he did heed your words. "Kayara, come!" He is clearly speaking to you and he reaches out for your wrist but another quake hits, the strongest one in the day yet, and he stumbles once again, the child still carried in his arms. You hear gasps around you, people fleeing on all sides as onlookers watch in horror. Above you the ceiling has broken in earnest and a car-sized chunk of stone falls straight down for you!

Oh, hey. Give me a Will Saving Throw.

"Cassie!" Within a few seconds, he reaches you and you take a whiff of his scent, a mix of fruity perfumes and sweat, earthy as if he were a common laborer. His brows furrow and he leans in, intimately so as if he were a lifelong partner, and you feel his breath on your ear. Hot, familiar, even as questions tumble from his mouth. "Are you hurt? Where are the your parents? Katherine? Ernst? Camille?" He rattles off the names of your coworkers but a rumble makes everyone, including you, stumble. The quake is a reminder and the people only seem to move faster for the exits. You see the one on the east, on the other side of where you are in the temple, collapse into rubble before anyone could leave that way. A few people nearest it begin to claw at the tumbled stonework but most turn and move to the other exits. Then the orange-bearded man grabs your wrist and pulls you toward the nearest exit, shouting at you over his shoulder, "We have to get out of here!"

Nicole laughed politely at Leroy's joke, her hand rising to hide her smile behind just as Leroy hid that flash of anger behind humor. It was worrying, somewhat, but the night was still young and she would ignore it to keep the evening's brevity. "My peers?" she repeated after the laughter had died down between them. "It depends on what you mean by that. Claremont has the powered teenagers but I'm really not like everyone else like that am I? There are communities held together in the knowledge of magic, science in ArcheTech, and more organizations with advocacies you could shake a stick at. And all of that within Freedom City." She sighed then continued. "I don't know, Leroy. People are so many things but I feel like I've lived a lifetime already, you know?" They arrived at their table, the murmur of conversations wafting into the alcove, and Nicole took a long moment to look out the window, taking in the city's skyline. It looked so serene, different and otherworldly from high above. Then with an apologetic glance and smile at Leroy, she took out a shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders. "A little cold." She trailed off then leaned forward, elbows placed comfortably on the table. "I've been in places like this a few times actually, back when I was little. Never thought I'd be back." She gestured to Leroy with a hand. "But I bet this is almost like second-nature to you.

And here is the OOC for this. Hero Points Snakebite - 2 Status Snakebite - Bruised 2, Dazed, Injured Initiative Order Snakebite Neil Isa

GM Post 17:13:56 October 19, 2018 Somewhere in the Amazon The ceiling falls. Huge slabs of rock brake from the ceiling, clouds of dust and debris exploding as they rain down on those below. People run across the ground, trying to escape the deathtrap they had found themselves in. Screams and shouts of alarm ring across the temple, echoing across the stone walls to mix with the sound of crashing stones. Shallow cracks web across the floor, the intricate artwork extolling gods and storied legends tearing itself apart. "Get out of the way!" A father leading three young children by the hand shoves past Cassie, causing her to stumble. When she looks up, the family of four is already moving among the panicking crowd. They rush for the nearest exit where the day outside streams through like a solid pillar of light. You move to follow but hear someone calling your name. "Cassie! Cassie!" A tall man wades through the crowd behind you, concern filling his eyes. His head is shaved and a beard, curly and orange, marks him like a target at a firing range.

The young woman on the wheelchair was dressed in a rich, burgundy dress whose skirt reached down to her knees, and she smoothed the ruffles. Gold earrings framed her face and a matching necklace her neck. She wore evening makeup, heavier than her usual fare, which brought her eyes to life as she looked up at Leroy, beaming herself. "It takes some getting used to but it isn't so much more difficult than flying loops hundreds of feet in the air." She leaned in, lowering her voice as he did. "I wouldn't have minded the elevator either, but has anyone ever told you you have a flair for the theatrics?" She gestured to the Starlight Room and the foyer they were in, the man behind the desk and a few waiters staring at them in a mixture of confusion and awe, no doubt because of their entrance. It was all very over-the-top but she was comfortable with it, like how she guessed it would be fun to drive along the highway above the speed limit. They were skirting the bounds of the acceptable. "Dio, teleportation, your clothes," she said teasingly. "Makes people look and remember."

"Look, I don't know, Corinne," Nicole said, sliding the piece of paper back on the table and then tapping it. "I have no clue how Grue tech works. I'm just telling you how I heard it." She wanted to so dearly rub her temples just to show how exasperated she was at Corinne's line of thinking, but with a great effort of will she prevailed and kept her hands flat on her wheelchair's armrest or on the table. "Yeah, okayyy," she prolonged the word on her tongue, then glanced at Monica and saw the sophomore stared so strongly at the paper. It was best to leave her be. Nicole looked back at Corinne and said confidently, "Well, if this is the case then the jig is up unless you can convince the villain to somehow keep your secret. Maybe you can force them or discredit them but those require you to do really sketchy things or just plain stupid, one in a million odds of working thing. It's, um," and she voice directed her voice to Monica as if wanting to break the other girl out of her funk. "It's all about the damage control." "You've experienced it, I get it, and it sucks but you've got something to say about all of this because of it, right?"

"You mean Daka crystals as the treasures," Nicole blurted out before she could stop herself, then realizing her mistake she gave a very unladylike snort and drove forward. She wasn't mocking Sara, not deliberately anyway, but the princess had a way of making things sound easy. Dakana stopped this and she stopped that and all that. Maybe they had it easy with being the most powerful country on Earth, pound for pound, but sometimes too easy meant there was a catch if one looked closer. "You keep it on saying that, the resilience of people. I dunno, I just feel crappy after leaving everyone once the excitement was over." "But you're very... optimistic." Nicole decided on a compliment instead of all the other adjectives floating in her mind. *** They went up the ramp and there was the man waiting for them on the top. He was balding on the top of his head, a man nearing middle-aged, but he still looked solidly-built, even wearing a jacket over a plain shirt and jeans. As they reached the glass doors that served as the entrance, he pushed the doors open, nodding to Nicole then Ajasoro as they entered. If Ajasoro was expecting a high-end, state-of-the-art facility complete with the bustle of scientists huddled in corners or over blackboards, the hum and whir of machinery, and papers strewn everywhere then she would have been sorely disappointed. Instead what waited for her was a completely mundane looking floor renovated to serve as a cafeteria-cum-soup kitchen. White, plastic tables were laid out in rows starting near the entrance all the way to the other side of the room where the counter of food was, and beyond that was presumably the kitchen. The walls were painted a cheery yellow with placards of inspiring quotes and pictures. Like the streets outside, only a few people were present. A family of four eating at one of the tables. One serving woman, wearing a hairnet and apron, was busy on her phone while she manned the counter. A man wearing shabby clothes and smelling strongly of tobacco brushed past them and exited the building carrying a small box of supplies between his hands. There were a few others, mostly what seemed like ArcheTech employees in blue-collar clothes moving around the cafeteria and further into the building, or having their lunch. However, Nicole's brows furrowed and she turned back to the guard. "Hey, Hank, why's everything so empty?" The guard, apparently named Hank, shrugged and after a moment said tersely, "Supplies came in last night. Was emptied out. We're restocking now." "Huh. And I didn't get a message? Nevermind." "Guess we aren't doing the soup kitchen anymore." Nicole's shoulders seemed to slump a little, but then perked right back up. "But how does a tour sound like? I was planning on showing you around but I guess we could just do that. Nothing they wouldn't show an intern here anyway so you're probably good too." She waved a hand at the cafeteria they were in. "So here's the cafeteria and what most everyone sees when they come in looking for a pick-me up. A lot of people think bleeding-tech and powers when they hear ArcheTech but what they don't know is that those are really expensive and sometimes it's just more practical to ship normal goods and food by trucks to a soup kitchen."

"Or study," Salvo offered helpfully to Masque. "Using something without knowing what makes it tick is like driving a car blindfolded." Her finger pointed at the mask then traced its silhouette in the air. "Especially something as obviously an artifact of magic as that. But if you need any help deciphering it, I'm the one you call. Trust me. Get this," and she leaned in closer, hands clasped on her legs, as if to whisper a secret though her voice was normal in volume. "I even got to do a little study on a weapon made by the same smiths as the ones who crafted Mjolnir. Mjolnir!" "Aww, Gauss." Salvo's external-valves seemed to half-sing in a whoosh of air kind of way, and she placed an open palm across her chest. "How's a girl supposed to be modest when her friend's brag for her?" Then after a moment she dropped her hand and waved at the rest of the members who had just introduced themselves. "Hey team. I'm sure we'll have fun any way.

"Yeah, I remember that." Nicole nodded and gave Sara a sardonic smile. It was a story worth every buck in the bucket. The most technologically advanced nation on Earth sending a whole contingent of its disaster relief workers to alleviate the pains Freedom City had just received. The Dakanans were gleaming in their robes, transports floating with anti-grav engines as numerous as rubber tires were on American cars. "And so did anyone who turned on the TV even once. You were there, doing what heroes are supposed to do." They reached the pavement and Nicole suddenly stopped and turned so her wheelchair to face Sara. The young engineer-mage fidgeted in her seat, uncomfortable. "You know, I appreciate what you did then, really." Her eyes were weary behind her glasses as she looked up at Sara. "I wasn't there. After the invasion ended I mean. I was holed up in my apartment until everything was more or less okay, but they never really were." She shook her head and looked around her. Though a man poked his head out the doorway, looking straight at the two girls clearly waiting for them, she ignored him and continued as if this were her first time confessing. "I fought then but I wasn't there after. It's a rush, fighting in Bellios," she said, referring to her armor. "You feel so powerful compared to what I am without it. But when the fighting's done and you leave and what does that say about you?" "Maybe I didn't meet you personally then," she wrung her hands over her well-worn thermos of coffee. "But you were there, bringing people to their feet again, so fresh and beaten but not down. You saw the best in people, and maybe that's why you're so happy. All I saw was the war."

September 21, 2018 11:14 AM Southside, Freedom City "And right over there's the ArcheTech Disaster Aid Southside HQ!" Nicole waved an arm grandly at the squat, old building that sat at the corner of two avenues. It was rendered in a red-bricked style, as if it were from another century, though that image was marred somewhat by the the graffiti spray painted on its walls. Most of it were painted over but what Ajasoro could make out hinted at small-time gang signs, rude messages railing against the authorities, and cussing aimed at those '****ing aliens'. Buildings all along the area were in similar straits, faded in color and lacking in life. Down the street, only one store remained open amid all the shutter-closed stores, a mom-and-pop pharmacy where a man was smoking a cigarette beside the doorway. With a screech of tires on asphalt and its doors still open, the bus Nicole and Ajasoro had taken sped away as if it was eager to get to its next stop in record time. The two girls were the only souls in the bus stop, and it was nearing noon, a time that for all purposes should have brought busy streets and crowds, though they could only hear those city sounds in the distance. It could have been another world for all that they were alone. They were only at the outskirts of the Southside, where the west of Lincoln blended into eastern Southside and also where the effects of the Terminus invasion had lingered, even after the physical damage had been long rebuilt. "Not the greatest." Nicole's face fell with the admission as she began to drive across the street's pedestrian lane on her wheelchair. She wore a sunny yellow blouse, dark blue pants, and a pair of off-white rubber shoes. "Even with Doctor Metropolis fixing this area back to its pre-invasion state, the people living here still haven't been able to pick themselves up. Guess there isn't an economy-heal superpower yet." She chuckled at the thought. "Ever been somewhere here before?" With her vague wording she could have been referring to the local area, the city, or even a figurative dump of a place like they were in.

"You haven't even given me time to think!" Nicole called from the other side of the court and she pressed a fist to her cheek, humming while she gave a good impression of thinking. She had already decided her answer. It seemed like a way in which she could participate in and no matter Leroy's skills, it was all for fun and games. Plus Leroy had a way of finding an interesting ways of doing things. Then she looked up and gave Leroy a smile that could be seen across the volleyball court. "Sure! Sounds like a game!" She pointed to Astrid and Micah. Astrid was her roommate and if anyone in Claremont knew what the demi-Asgardian could do it was her. As for Micah... well, she'd wing it and he seemed shyer, less sure of himself like Selena had said. Someone you needed to handle with kid gloves. "Hey you're my team now! Don't lose or you're joining me in the bet!"

"Now this is interesting," came a small voice in her head and she concurred. "At first glance, I would associate its making with the marks of the Idolon but even sympathetic resonance can deceive idle study..." Salvo bent down, stopping as she brought her head a few inches away from the mask, her visor pulsing as a whirring sound began somewhere from her helmet, almost purring with interest. It stopped as abruptly as it began and, while still bending down, looked up at Masque. "'For the mystique' is right on the nose for this. An magical artifact that lets you cast the illusions, right?" She turned her helmet to Masque's rose and asked, "Do you know anything about it?" She bobbed her head up and down, acquiescing to Janus and Ajasoro in good spirits. "Point taken. If we're on to skills, my mind is my greatest asset as cliche as that sounds. I'm not athletic like Gauss and the only thing letting me keep up are my thrusters."

Salvo stepped first into the dojo, the wooden floors protesting under her weight as she moved to stand beside Gauss, looming over her. Gone was the lanky girl with glasses confined to a wheelchair, enclosed as she was inside Bellios, her armour, shined to a gleaming red and white and crackling with the occasional harmless pop and fizzle. The knight in armor, panels and plates covered with tiny runes and patterns whose meanings only she understands. She was a stark contrast to the zen-like forest around them, a technological weapon in human form anticipating the trigger pull. "This won't turn into a bragging match would it, Gauss?" She asked, her voice modulated to a lower alto, though unmistakably Nicole's. She turned her knightly visor, emanating a purple glow, to the rest of the team and they could almost hear her chuckling to herself. "Cause I'm beating it." She nodded her head and gestured to herself. "Salvo's my codename while suited up and what I can do is pretty obvious. The short of it is I fly and shoot things. Sometimes I explode them too." She tapped the side of her helmet. "And my sensors run a comprehensive suite through magic and radar plus what amounts to a hard-etched supercomputer to run my systems. So battlefield awareness, flight, and loads of ranged options means I can hang back and fire all day long." Then she placed an armored gauntlet across her chest where a arc reactor was set firmly in place and the runes on her hand glowed faintly, as if drawing power from touch alone. "This armor provides protection against all kinds of attacks, including mental assaults, through a combination of alchemically-looped rituals and composite metals. Need someone to handle the frontline and tank hits? I'm your girl."

"Oh and you are proving that reputation quite well, you know? I didn't mean anything." Nicole gave the Danger host a smile and then gestured to the gathering guests. "This is cool. It's been a while since I've let my hair down and, yeah, needed this." "Thanks for the offer," Nicole nodded, dark brown eyes following Janus' arm pointed at the inlet. "But it couldn't be worse than flying. A wide deck and a good pilot's all that I really need." She patted the dark leather armrest of her wheelchair fondly. It was an expensive and expansive looking wheelchair. "This thing is sturdier than it looks. Customized it myself but seems like people want to play volleyball first." She gestured to the rest with her hand, glancing as they trickled in. Then she looked back at Janus. "I'll be waiting for the worst you can dish out." They parted ways, moving engage with other students and Leroy came bearing a gift. "Why thank you," Nicole said as she received the crystal-like piece and pocketed it within her hoodie. She gave the boy a half-curtsy from her seating position, clearly enjoying his mannerisms, as much as they seemed to be from a fairy tale of nobles and castles. "I'm sure she'd be thrilled to know someone takes an interest in what she creates, magic or psychic powers or no." Then Leroy turned to the rest, proposing both their roles. Nicole rolled her eyes fondly. "Don't let me stop you. I'd love to see you play there yourself." Then she was facing Kam, skin dark and built like a mountain, even among all the other boys. "You mean Dakana?" Nicole asked, daintily cupping her chin inside her palm as she kept her eyes on Kam, ignoring even Adam's bombastic exit. "It sounds like a wonderful place, something I'd like to visit one day, for study and to experience all that." She was being sincere as she said this, finding the balance of ecology and progress fascinating, and showing she was not all business when she wanted to. She cocked her head as she watched Kam, her smile promising secret knowledge, though she doubted their royal status would be a secret any longer within the walls of Claremont "You came to the U.S. with your sister right? Something tells me you aren't what you two seem as Kingdoms. And that something means your sister, Ajasoro. She hasn't been as mum about some things as she should have been." And finally, it was Selena hovering next to her and Nicole smirked and craned her head to look at the senior. "Girl, you're going to enjoy everyone and anyone here and we both know it. I'm just watching the boys my type and-- wait, how's he gay?" Nicole furrowed her brows and with a closer eye turned to look at Kam interacting mostly with guys for the beach volleyball game.

GM Jungle Memories: Walking the Daydream (14) Through the Mirrored Glass and Back Again (2) Salvo And Carnal Forbearance (3) Assemble! (1) Last Gasp of Summer (2) Let's Fall in Like (2) Red Sky at Night (4) Sundae Cup Sparks (4) The Beast of America (1) Welcome the Starlight Room (2)

"Yeah, alright. Fine," Nicole replied to Corinne and averted her gaze, rolling her eyes while Corinne was busy doing the splits. It seemed that neither Corinne nor Monica knew much about the Grue except that they invaded and were repelled after some time. Nicole took this as an opportunity for a small lecture. As her eyes roamed over the other groups, she continued like a professor imparting hard-won experience to freshmen, "I've heard that the Grue keep the people imprisoned. They need the original genetic source alive to continue using their powers or something like that and since it's much easier to keep all their resources in one or a few places, all you need is one Grue to pick its brain and be your counter-agent. It's a chance to save people and maybe it isn't easy but you at least know your general direction, right? Simple like that. Help your friends, kick some alien invader ass. And anyone who doesn't think so needs to get their head knocked back in place." In any case, it was clear that her discussion groupmates had anything to add and so Nicole snatched the single piece of paper from the table and held it up to her nose. "Anyway, changing topic or what?" She asked, looking up from the paper. "The next one's about what to do when someone - a supervillain's threatening to spill the beans on you and your friend's secret identities."

She whistled, low and long but impressed nonetheless as she watched Dio pace in the confines of the hall. "That place is pretty expensive." There was a pause and she blinked, Dio's breath filling the hall. Then she broke the silence with a chuckle. "Okay. That place is hella expensive." "Yeah, that sounds nice. I'll go," she nodded her head, sealing the date. She gave him a genuine smile, teeth flashing and all. "Thanks for the tip." She waited patiently for the dragon to emter the auditorium again and when she was alone once again, wheeled around and down the hall, humming a tune until she turned the left and disappeared around the corner, the speech from Mrs. Summer now barely heard. For sure after the assembly Summers would jump on her faster than a starving lion on a deer served well-done, but she could very much handle that. All she needed was one good thing to make her day and she found it at the start of her day. Nevermind Zenith. Now, she had a textbook to finish.

"Yeahhh," Nicole said, watching Corinne's little zen routine. On another side of the table, Monica looked just like a drenched puppy scolded for leaving muddy pawprints on the kitchen floor. Maybe it was best if they leaved the topic with how touchy the subject seemed to be. People would get upset and she might just start sniping. "Yeah, basically an alien," Nicole began to explain, pushing up her glasses to see the two other girls better. "But imagine it was pretending to be a person you knew well but wasn't all along. When did the switch happen? What happened to the original person? Did you even know the person or were you talking to a Grue the whole time." "This one's easier," she declared. "You've got to verify their story first, keep them in detention to make sure you aren't played like a fiddle. Then you take them in as an ally and figure out what happened to your real friend."

"A home, your home, as in Dakana?" Nicole asked, a bit skeptical yet willing to humor Ajasoro. She knew Dakana rarely permitted foreigners within its borders but if anyone could get her in, it was the Dakanan princess herself. She could practically touch the Daka crystals if she just reached for them. "Hell yeah, that's a favor I'm taking. I'd trade you my wheelchair for that." So maybe Ajasoro wasn't so bad. She pulled out her phone and began typing, speaking to Ajasoro as she typed. "Southside isn't exactly where I live but it is part of this city and one of the worst parts of it, right? So what could a Dakanan princess and the smartest girl this side of the city do? I don't know but I have a few ideas." Then she looked up and rolled forward, holding her phone out for Ajasoro to take. "My phone number and I've sent friend requests to your 'Sara Kingdom' accounts. I could pull you in sometime when we're both free. Would you like that?" Nicole took back her phone and deposited it into her pocket, her face beaming with the possibilities. She took the first step and now it was only a matter of taking the rest. Going out, exploring, Nicole knew that. And if Ajasoro did too, was experienced in immersing herself in the real world, then maybe this idea of hers would be a walk in the park.

"Woah there." Nicole's smirk was teasing as she leaned away from Janus, her hands up in mock defense. The Danger had a way of making people feel at ease, almost like smooth liquor, but Nicole knew she hadn't had one drop of it. "Let's keep the personal space while the party hasn't started yet. But, you know, I'd love to see what you have in mind." She threw a thumb back at the pier. "Do you mean the ships back there? We passed them on our way here and I'm sure one of them could fit the whole party. Or two?" She asked, a brow raised in question. Then she looked up at Kam and then down at the now obviously Earth-2 item, as advanced as it was. She rubbed the back of her head at Kam's suggestion, suddenly reluctant to push through with it. She could kick herself right now. "Welll... I don't have my tools with me so I can't really do much here now. If Leroy'll lend it to me after I could do much more. As is, I could only make guesses." "So maybe later? Janus offered and I could accompany you to sea first, watch how you surf and all. You look like you know your way around the waves," she said to Kam just as more people came into the picture, Corinne among them and looking like she stepped out a magazine's cover as always. Jeeze, talk about a mood swing. Well, Selena seemed to consider staying on land. Nicole could sometimes swear the other girl was the only senior that wasn't some kind of ass (besides Alex) and so was worth hanging with.

"Deal!" Nicole practically jumped in excitement even before Astrid laid out the conditions. Those didn't matter much. She was sure she could handle them when they came but for now, Nicole held out her hand for Porrklubba, an brow raised expectantly. She cleared her throat. "Well you did say when you weren't using it." At Astrid's assent Nicole snatches the bat from the bed and wheeled backwards to get to her own trunk. She kicked it open, revealing a pile of clothes folded neatly on top one another, then started to shift through them until she pulled out a black rectangular case by the handle. "Should have brought my full kit when I had the chance," Nicole said as she moved to an empty desk, clicking open the case and laying it over the desk. Inside was something that looked more at home in a mechanist or a computer technician's station than a traditional magical practitioner's save for the runes etched onto the screens and handles of the equipment that glowed slightly as Nicole brushed her fingers over them. It'd take a dumb*** to not see that Astrid was evasive about her Asgardian past. Nicole couldn't just boot up her computer and take everything about another dimension. No worries though, Astrid'll be happy to share if she helped her unlock the inner workings of her beloved bat. Scratch each others backs in a way. "Hey, you can look if you want but no touching," she called over her shoulder, her lenses glowing a purple light now. A girl's kit was even more valuable than her makeup set, she always said.

"Monica, Corinne... relax, seriously," Nicole said, hesitated in the face of the light coruscating around but slid her palm across the table anyway, her fingers splayed out as if reaching for something. Volatile. No one wanted Zenith right now and no one wanted Liberty flying all over the table. "Please?" After a few seconds of waiting, Nicole retracted her hand from the table then folded her arms across her chest though she was visibly fidgeting. She faced Monica with a pout on her face. "She's right, you know. The government can do all of that and more. Hell, anyone schmuck with the hardware and skills can do all of that and more. I've done that in my sleep. And that's me keeping secrets. Making their identities public is way more... messed... up." Nicole stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening as she looked at Monica, their first meeting on the fourth floor of the Rita-Kord dorm coming to the forefront of her mind and how she had pushed Monica's buttons the wrong way. Her voice was soft, awkward and hesitant, as she said. "I'm sorry. That must have been really horrible for you." She unfolded her arms and began to gesticulate as she turned to Corinne. "Maybe this is why there's a whole world's difference between us and them, the politicians and police. They're authorities, people who we're supposed to trust and put our lives in their hands. We who choose to volunteer are just civilians and any superpowered individual who goes out of line becomes a criminal like any shooter with a gun." She paused, her eyes closed and sighed. Paused to cool down. "You have the police shooting who they're supposed to protect," she continued. "You have politicians embezzling public funds or flaunting human rights and so you have a problem considering they're the public servants. That's a complete one-eighty to what we entrusted them to do." "But us?" She waved a hand around the table. "We aren't forced into some big responsibility because of our powers. No one's forcing you to fight crime or whatever instead of pursuing dance in Claremont. No one's forcing Monica to become the next Lady Liberty . Superheroes don't have authority. Most don't get paid yet we already register our alter-egos with the government if we volunteer. I'm doing and taking this from my free time and so why does the government get to decide that's something to be viewed with even more suspicion?"

A white and large shuttle van bearing the Danger family logo appeared from a bend on the road, filled with students ready to let their hair down. It rolled to a stop by the pier and the doors slid open, a ramp extending from the inside. Nicole was the first one out, driving her wheelchair down, wearing a burgundy hoodie, its sleeves rolled up her forearms and unzipped down the middle to reveal a black tanktop. She wore denim shorts and a shawl over her legs against the Autumn temperature. Her hair was kept under control in a ponytail, strands of loose hair swaying in the breeze as she led the students through the pier and onto the beach itself. Another large multi-billionaire's mansion-cum-beach house. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't impressed but then she saw three students already gathered together a little ways off and she couldn't help but keep her eyes on the two very attractive boys in swimwear with the Danger. She drove a little faster, eager to introduce herself. "Hi guys," she said as she rolled into the group. She gave a little wave, eyes shifting from Kam to Veronica, and lingering on Leroy, on his Atlantean tattoos which she could not read but recognized, before indicating herself. "Nicole. It's nice to meet you." Then she turned in her seat and gave Dio a wave. "And anything to do on land?" She asked, noting that they all looked as if they were ready to surf on Malibu waves instead of Northeastern shores. "For those of us who can't or don't want to swim. We can't just eat all the time. I've got movies, music, and--" She snapped her fingers and pointed to the dining table sized plate on the ground. "We could just fiddle with that. I'm guessing something to do with extradimensions?"