KnightDisciple

"Looks like I did stop you, nutjob."

Corbin was, for a moment, wracked with indecision. There was gunfire down the way...but there were also hostages right there. He decided to evacuate the pair immediately, so that they at least could be safe.

He actually lifted from the ground and flew the comparatively short distance to the sporting goods store, looking around for the freed hostages.

"Hey, take it easy folks. Both of the whackos in black are down for the count. My name is Cobalt Templar. I'm here to help you. Come on, I'll get you two outside."

He makes his voice as pleasant as possible when he speaks, trying to help the people stay calm, and not panic.

Assuming they responded positively, Corbin would gather them up and start moving them towards the nearest window. No skylights meant a somewhat tighter squeeze, but so it goes.

CT took a few large steps forward, re-adjusting his aim as he went. The "cannon" on his arm was now pointed at the other thug, who apparently didn't like the hero in blue for some strange reason.

"The name is Cobalt Templar. I can, and will, stop you, and all your comrades. Now, lay down."

With that, another blast of concentrated ethereal fire leaps from his "cannon", aimed square at the thug.

CT:

Move Action: Walk about 10 feet forward. Still want some space between me and the mook, but I also want to be where I have a somewhat better view.

Standard Action: Attack. Taking 10 on Mook, for 17. DC22 Toughness.

Corbin was silent as Eddie left. He didn't know what had happened, but he felt it was better to let sleeping dogs lie. He gave Ms. Tessmacher a smile and a nod as he hefted his bag onto his shoulder once more, and headed towards the indicated door.

"Thank you much, ma'am."

And then he headed into the office, to speak with the headmaster.

'No time like the present.'

Corbin steeled himself with that thought as he threw open the stairway door. Even as he did, his right arm was being encase in blue fire. At first, it was an indistinct mess. But as his arm began to get level with the thug to his left, the fire had solidified into a futuristic-looking arm cannon. For a split second, energy seemed to gather in the barrel...

"You people picked the wrong mall to take hostages in."

And released the blast directly at the center mass of the thug. Should just knock him out, if things went well enough.

Right. I'll have CT throw open the door and Blast the mook on CT's left.

Edit: As they're mooks, I'm taking 10. So Attack of 17. (Old attack was 14.)

Hm. Not horrible. Save DC, if it hits, is DC22 Toughness.

Gabriel smiled and nodded at the other heroes as they left, or prepared to leave.

"Take care, Dyne.

I'm glad I could be of service, Wander. If you're in the area and need help again, look me up. Or drop me a line; I have a number through the Freedom League."

He handed her one of the cards he'd taken to carrying, with a "dummy" phone number on it that led to his cell phone. Another card was given to Momentum.

"Glad I could give you a tour and some advice, Momentum. I'll keep an eye out for your Twitter, but feel free to give me a call if you need to. I may not be a 24/7 help line, but I'll do what I can. And you're doing fine; practice and experience will only make you better. That goes for both of you."

He gave them both a winning smile and offered a parting handshake. Then, he took to the skies himself, out to make one last quick round before retiring for the night.

(OOC:Feel free to do final posts, but that's basically a wrap. Fun times, folks! )

Gabriel sharply clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention.

"Let's keep it moving. Clear our heads a bit. Come on, time to swing south."

With that, the sonic hero once more took to the skies, his path taking them back south through the area. They slowly left behind the most worn-down part of Southside, especially as they approached Freedom College. Of course, Gabriel still took time to point out potential problem areas.

"That club there tends to get really rowdy on weekends, enough that brawls are semi-common."

_____________________

"That street is kind of out of the way, somewhat popular "hang out" spot."

_____________________

And so on. Eventually, the group started to slow down as they approached the airport, landing on a nearby rooftop.

"Well, that was the quick-and-dirty tour. Any questions you haven't already asked?"

Another notice check, because just walking out without checking might end badly.

Notice Check: 4+7=11.

...Glad I'm getting this out of the way now... :?

Corbin mentally uttered a half-dozen Ancient Hebrew curses, before carefully pulling away from the front of the hall. Walking further along, he came across an emergency door. With as much care as he could muster, he opened it slowly and slipped inside. He needed to get upstairs.

But first, he had to change. Once the door was closed, Corbin held up his right hand for a moment, closed his eyes, and concentrated. In a flash of eerie blue fire, where once Corbin Hughes, high school student and aspiring archeologist stood, there was now the Cobalt Templar, shining beacon of hope to those in need.

'At least I hope so.' he thought to himself.

The change completed, CT began to float upwards, choosing to forgo the stairs themselves until he reached the second floor, where he would slowly, carefully crack the door to the stairs open. Through the narrow opening, he'd try to see if there were any of the criminals in the immediate vicinity.

In conferring with Aoiroo, we're fine with Option B, unless AA would particularly prefer A, in which case we will defer to him.

Right, so, CT's still in civvies and hiding in one of those side halls with bathrooms and such that you see in malls. He's currently trying to spot...well, anyone, really. So..

Notice Check: 4+7=11.

Corbin's day had started so pleasantly. After all, he'd finally started settling in at Claremont; making friends, getting a hang of his classes, all of that stuff. He'd come to the mall to get a couple of sketch pads and some sketching pencils, and maybe just to have an excuse to walk around a bit.

'Seriously, this is nuts. I just wanted a nice Saturday evening. Grab my stuff, walk the mall, maybe buy a book, and then head back to the university. Maybe draw some of the buildings. But no, some nutbags in black decided today was a good day to take hostages. Is this typical for this city?'

He'd been getting a drink from one of the water fountains when he got that weird tingling sensation from his ring. It was picking up weapons that just didn't belong in a mall, and it seemed like there was intent to use them. Not good. He'd ducked into the men's bathroom and managed to keep out of sight until the thugs had finished checking the whole side hallway. Now, he stood just inside said hallway, carefully peering out, attempting to see where any other people, hostile or friendly, might be. He wasn't in his costume yet, but he was seriously considering the change. He just wished he had some help...

Does Sparky need a notice check to see that she's controlling Jermaine/how she's controlling him?

At any rate, Sand basically said (via IM) that after about the next post, stuff will go down, and I think we shall have the "enter the cavalry" moment.

"Nazis, talking animals, and alternate versions of yourself? What happened to just worrying about your next test?"

Gabriel's tone belied his words; he was actually somewhat bemused as he shook his head.

"And here I thought just the Freedom League got into those sorts of shenanigans. I can believe it though. As for demons..."

A dark look passed over his face.

"They seem to like popping up when you least expect one. Still, glad to hear your team is doing so well. I'm sure all of us will end up on one crazy adventure or another soon enough."

Cobalt Templar is up to the challenge! I hope. :P

Corbin carefully examined the newest entrant to the room. Apparently, this was the time and place for students to meet with the schoolmaster.

He took a single large stride forward, placed a polite smile on his face, and extended his hand.

"My name's Corbin, and I didn't actually know your name, Eddie. I'm brand new around here. First day and all."

He hand to lean downwards a bit, as he had a full 6 inches on the other boy. Between that slight gesture, and his notable mass (which looked like it could fill out to be even more in a couple of years), it might almost be an intimidating gesture. Somewhat at odds with his friendly voice and body language. He didn't seem to be consciously attempting intimidation, really.

As Breakdown is in pretty desperate need of some threads, I'm going to have him drop by

Corbin took the forms, shaking his head slightly.

"I don't recall if I ever heard his name to begin with. My parents told me the name of this school, that it would be "the best place for me, all things considered", and told me they had "arranged everything". I've never met Mr. Summers. But thank you. I'll try to be quick."

He goes over to one corner of the area, sitting in an available chair as he begins to fill out the forms.

'Telepathy? I...well, I guess that makes sense.'

He diligently filled out the forms, taking only a short time on each to skim it and sign it. It seemed all the non-signature information was filled out. Typical, but helpful. When he was finished, he stood and strode over to the secretary.

"Here you go, Miss..."

He quickly tries to see if her desk has a name plate, not wanting to just call her "Miss Secretary".

<Not many speak it. I am a student of history, so I decided to pick it up.>

"Plus, it's fun to speak in sometimes."

Corbin quickly makes sure Etain can keep up with his pace. He's used to people having to hurry to keep up with his strides. His dad used to say he lucked out, since he was taller than both of his parents already. Something about "dormant Viking genes" or something. A sad smile flickered over his face.

'I miss those days.'

He briefly glanced at the ring on his right finger, before stopping in front of the information desk.

"Um, excuse me. I'm a new student here, Corbin Hughes. I think I have an appointment with someone, but it wasn't made clear to me who it was with."

The large student somehow manages to convey "helplessly lost" in his expression. It's kind of impressive.

The thought translates as, It can wait, and

"Ego sententia they haud diutius orator Latin huic universitas."

I thought they no longer spoke Latin in this world.

Yeah, this can get tiring, maybe we should just do the thing to save time.

"Is est teres. Illic eram haud offensus donatus." is translated from Latin to "It is fine. There was no offense given." in English. For the curious.

Corbin raised an eye. Someone around his age who knew Latin? A rare thing. He gave a slight smile to the girl.

"Is est teres. Illic eram haud offensus donatus. Glad to meet you, Etain. Are you new around here as well?"

He looked towards the entrance building.

"I suppose it would make sense for some sort of "visitor's guide" to be there. You seem a bit lost yourself. Perhaps we can both get some assistance?"

He started to walk back into the entrance building, looking back to see if Etain would follow.

Gabriel's expression morphed from disappointment, to shock, to anger, and finally to sadness. He uncrossed his arms and held them, palm forward, in front of himself in a sort of warding gesture.

"Jermaine, come on. It's me, Gabriel. We talked just last week. Remember? You and some other guys were playing basketball at the Youth Center a few blocks away, and I swung by to say "hello" and check in on everyone? I chatted with the other guys for a bit, but we ended up talking for over an hour. You asked me all sorts of questions. I answered them. Remember that? How is your sister doing? I know she had a mild case of the flu when we chatted; is she doing any better?"

He paused, weighing the situation carefully.

"Jermaine. You know you don't really want to do this. You're not the sort of person who shoots people. Especially people who aren't trying to hurt you. That's not what your mother taught you. Not what your teachers taught you. And it's not what I taught you. You're better than this, Jermaine. You're a smart kid. You have a bright future ahead of you. Don't make this sort of mistake. You're supposed to make normal teenager mistakes. You know, pick the wrong answer on a test; mess up the words when you're signing a song with your buddies; stutter when you ask a pretty girl out; mismatch your socks. All the things that make you feel mortified now, but that you'll look back and laugh about in 5 years. Please, Jermaine. Don't make this mistake."

Corbin was looking the other direction, still trying to spot anything that looked helpful, when someone collided with him.

He let out a grunt of surprise, but didn't actually move any. He turned his 6'4" frame around to face whoever had bumped into him, and saw...a girl in an oddly old-fashioned dress.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention, or I'd have warned you or stepped out of the way."

He offered one hand out for her to shake.

"Name's Corbin, Corbin Hughes. I'm new around here, and kind of lost. Could you help me find the...I guess schoolmaster's office? I'm not even totally sure where I'm supposed to go at all."