Griffalo

He nodded. "Well, I'm actually not that fast with these on. They just give me a slight edge. Dad actually put the equivalent of a speed-limiter on them, in fact. You know, until I learn reponsbility and maturity and all that." He smiled sheepishly. "The main thing I've got to be careful about is keeping my feet on the ground. They're tricky things, if you don't have your wits about you." He lifted his heels one after the other, just like any runner checking the integrity of his shoes and stretching his legs. "So, you going to pace me, or we just going to go for it?" He grins, getting slightly more mischievous at the thought of competition.

He grins. "Then I guess if you have fun on TV and look good doing it, I'm inclined to agree there. You'll have to lend me some old tapes of you." "Running?" He laughs. "How does the son of Hermes, the messenger of the Gods and possessor of the fabled Talaria, the winged sandals, feel about running?" He laughs again. "I like it okay, I guess. It's one of those alone-sports, so it's like the 'reading quietly' of athletics." He looked down at his trainers, the Nike swoosh replaced by an embroidered wing, picked out in black and white stitching. "Then again, it's not like these give me a huge advantage..."

He smirked. "I think you already know the answer to that question - people who really want to be famous at the cost of everything else, even if it's famous for being a dirtbag. Some people are like that, they don't know the difference between good attention and bad, so any attention at all makes them happy." He got off the machine a little stiffly. "I'm not doing too bad. Feel like I've had a workout, though." He stood up straight, evidently trying not to show his fatigue. "I'm still good to go, though. What's next?"

Evander laughed. "Does this look like the face of a TV star? No, I don't want to be a celebrity. Just... still adjusting I guess, even after all these years. I grew up reading comics, wondering what it would be to be a superhero, and now I am one." Another shrug - the move was fast becoming his trademark. "I get that people need heroes to look up to and sometimes they need to be shown in a favourable light. And I agree that nobody needs to see Captain Thunder having one too many beers or Siren having a 'wardrobe malfunction', but... I dunno, I think people need to appreciate that people like you and me are just... people, you know? We've got our faults and we're not perfect."

He looks slightly crestfallen at the mention of there not being a drama club, but he shrugs nonetheless. "I guess with it being such a relatively small school, it's not really feasible to have all the clubs you'd find at a normal high school." "I figure it's not really glamorour, and that it's got its highs and lows just like anything else... but that's the public perception, isn't it?" He smiles. "We're kind of like celebrities, because people wonder what our lives are like, what it'd be like to be us. I guess they'd be pretty disappointed if they saw the reality." After completing a rep on the machine, he seems to muse over something. "I wonder if anyone's thought of doing, like, a supernatural reality show? Something like 'Freedom Shore'! That'd be hilarious to watch."

Mercury Increase Magic from 7 to 8 and remove the Power Loss Drawback. (3pp spent). This should increase the Blast, Create Object and Move Object AP Ranks to 8. I would also like to remove the Disruption Drawback from the Transform AP. Increase Comprehend to 3 - I'd like to add the ability to understand all written languages. (2pp spent) Increase Attack and Defence Saves by +1 each (4pp spent). One rank of Equipment which I will be devoting to the headquarters discussed in the Unreal Estate thread (1pp spent). Please add the following Complications to the sheet: Power Loss - Magic: Evander must be free to speak and gesture to cast his magic. If he is bound and/or silenced, he cannot use spells. Disruption: Mercury's spell of transmutation takes a lot of intensive focus. He needs to conentrate hard while employing it. Should he fail a Concentration check while maintaining it, the power can go awry in... unusual ways. Doktor'd

Evander takes a bunch of keys from his belt. There's a staggering variety, and there seems to be one of each type of key for every type of lock. They're hanging from the key fob of what looks to be a Mercury car. "I might be able to get us in with these. That is, if the realm of dreams and wherever she is are the same place..." He looks over at the girl in the bed, his brow slightly furrowed. "I think she was on to something. Maybe she got too close and whoever is causing these nightmares..." He shivered, the thought of being permanently trapped in a nightmare something he obviously didn't relish.

DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN Mercury -Drop Illusion 3 and Morph 7 from the Magic Array, freeing up 2PP. -Add Action (Full) and Distracting to Transform, increasing the Rank from 3 to 5. -Increase Defence from +2 to +3 (using those 2PP). -Drop Enhanced Defence 10 to 8 on the Talaria Device (freeing up 2PP within the Device and thus bringing my Defence back to cap). -Add Flight 1 (Drawback: Minimum Speed) and Speed 1 to the Talaria (thus using up my 2PP and leaving me back where I started, PP wise.)

I should be able to contribute a PP, at least.

Mercury nods. "I really like this place. Got a real sense of history about it, I think. Plus apart from you guys..." He waves a hand at Quinn, Arcturus and Etain. "...there's not that many magical types at Claremont. It'd be good to study with people older than us, a bit more experience." "I'm in the same boat as you guys though, I'll contribute what I can, but school takes up a lot of time." His schedule was quickly filling up. School, this place... he hoped he'd be able to at least fit some actual heroing in, start proving himself to his father. Plus it was nice to interact with some of the other students outside of school.

He sits back on the adjusted chair, then seems to nod in satisfaction. "That's better. No, I don't mind at all. Everyone's entitled to a private life, aren't they?" He nods. "Me, I prefer... I've always called 'em 'fighting games' which I always thought sounded like baby talk. But stuff like Street Fighter, Tekken, stuff like that. I like roleplaying games too, though." He laughs, mainly to himself. "I bet regular people would get a kick out of that, picturing glamorous super-heroes pretending to be other people." "But apart from that, I like to read. You end up getting called weird, but I like spending time by myself sometimes. Helps me think, you know? Also... I think I might like to give drama a try. Is there anything like a Drama Club here?"

He nods, shaking his arms out and rolling his shoulders. "Yeah, video games are pretty awesome, I play a few myself. You got a favourite, or? You read anything good lately? I usually like sci-fi, but I've been reading a lot of history and mythology recently." He seats himself at the leg press machine, letting her set something appropriate before commencing. "So, Trevor is your boyfriend? You two been together a while?" He smiles sheepishly. "Uh, just tell me if I'm asking too many personal questions. I tend to just talk and talk to fill up silence."

Evander tried not to grimace with effort after she'd added the extra five pounds. "I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the end," his voice slightly distorted by his tendency at the moment to grit his teeth. "I guess I never took the long view like you say," he said, frowning a little. "I always assumed it'd be a quid pro quo thing, you know, a favour for a favour. But your way, I like better." A smile. He was warming to her as a person, her demeanour at odds with her tough first impression. "So, like, what do you do for fun? I know you said you spend a lot of time training, but you got to have some hobbies?"

Evander nods, taking all this information without a word until she's finished. He looks at the machine he's operating. "How am I doing, okay? This doesn't seem all that hard, you sure it's going to work? I mean, being strong and buff is cool and all, but I thought I'd be learning more... defensive stuff, really." A few more reps on that machine, and he shrugs, working out some of the stiffness in his body. "Not sure if I can ever repay the favour for this. I mean... like you said, it's not like I can teach you any magic. But... I dunno, if you ever need help with homework or assignments, I'm pretty good at that."

Is there anything in the book that would correspond to a workshop for those with Ritualist, i.e. a ritual space or sanctum sanctorum?

Evander nodded when Erin offered the bench. "Sure." He briefly considered asking her to keep the weight the same, but a sidelong glance showed that it was set for a total of more than he weighed. "Yeah, setting a bit lower would be great. Should I start on the lowest setting and work my way up?" Once Erin had set him at an appropriate level, he began working the machine - cautiously at first but then more confidently as he got into it. "The next Master Mage, huh? That's pretty impressive, especially if this 'Seven' is still in college, too. Eldritch isn't going to retire any time soon, is he? Or is 'retire' just a polite way of suggesting he might get killed in the line of duty, so to speak?" He smiled, though it was gallows humour at best. "Still, being from a magical lineage must mean she's got a lot of natural power." He weights clanked down briefly as he finished his final rep on that particular machine. "Any idea how I should get a hold of her?"

Evander walked into the room, looking around. Everything seems normal, he thought. There were certainly no telltale traces of magic, though that wasn't conclusive of anything. He moved towards the book and the notepad, cautiously opening the book to see what was written inside. "So, does anyone have a plan on how to do this?"

Evander studied the machines carefully, as if they were an opponent he was looking to defeat, trying to find their weakness. "So I do a certain amount of... 'reps'... and that's one set. Little break then you do the next set, right?" He nods. "Seems easy enough." After he's watched her work, he shoots her another smile. "You certainly make it look easy." "So, this Seven, she's been doing magic for a while now, do you think? I mean, not being arrogant but I am going to need a teacher who knows what they're doing, so I can further my studies." His posture and folded arms suggested that he wasn't completely successful in pulling off the whole 'not being arrogant' thing. But then again, maybe some of that pride and self-confidence was deserved?

He returned the smile. "Hey, sometimes it's all about playing to your strengths." He looked at the machines critically. "I'll be sure to give them a go. What's going to be best for all-out strength training?" He shrugged at her question. "I have no idea. Haven't really met anyone else quite like me here at the school, and it's not like I saw 'The Hermetic Art' on the curriculum they gave me. Maybe I'll have to look outside the school for that. There's a few guys here who have magical abilities, but they're not magi like me." He smiles. "It's kind of like trying to learn how to operate a Mac and then sitting down in front of a PC; not going to be terribly effective."

Is there anything magical about anything in the room?

I'd definitely be down for this as Mercury.

He nodded intently. While being in a team seemed cool, the first time said team got in a fight was a concept that both thrilled and frightened him. It all too quickly brought back memories of Argus. He'd tried to fight - albeit with magic rather than fists - but the creature was too much. He'd ended up running in terror, running for his life. If he hadn't called on his father... He suppressed a shudder. He looked between the machines and Wander. "Well, I know how to lift something, if that helps. Then again, anything that seems like it'd be effort to lift, I've got to admit - I use magic." He waved a hand towards the heavy titanium dummy. "Oculus manus." It floated upwards a few inches, a foot or so above his upstretched palm. He walked it back to the other dummies, floating it along like a helium balloon. It settled down on the floor with only a slight metallic clang. As soon as his hand dropped to his side, the spell seemed ended.

he definitely seemed impressed with her trick of stopping just before the punch connected. That's some real Matrix #@&% right there, he thought. "Hey, I'm with you on the control thing. Believe me." He'd listened intently, his entire being focused on taking in the lesson before nodding to show that he comprehended. There was a slight hesitation in his body as Erin laid her hands on him, but it passed after a moment. He regarded himself critically in the mirror, and couldn't fault her assessment. "It seems like a lot of learning to fight is learning to go against instinct. Or, rather, making the proper way to do things instinctual. Because I can imagine the first time I got in a fight I'd forget all this."

When she turned to look at him, he was both horrified and impressed in equal measure. "That was solid titanium, and you put a dent in it. With a pulled punch. Okay, now I'm definitely glad we didn't start off with the sparring." He turned back to the metal dummy's foam counterpart and tried mimicing the way Erin had punched. This time he more successfully followed through, twisting to drive his body behind the punch. He'd leaned into it slightly, true, but the dummy rocked back appreciably. A slight smile from him showed that he could see the evident improvement.

He's at least managed to avoid the most common error of neophytes and doesn't tuck his thumb inside his fingers when he punches. Still, it's merely a quick extension of his fist towards the dummy. "Well, that was as unspectacular as I expected it to be." He looked more than a little disappointed, though they both knew it was exactly in line with his evident lack of skill. He throws a few more quick jabs at the dummy's face and head. None of the three blows land in the same place, and no doubt someone like Wander would have felt them as mere taps on the shoulder. The determined set to his jaw seemed to say that he was determined to overcome this apparent area of weakness.