GranspearZX

Ralf did, indeed, have a bag packed. It was filled, however, with video games and probably more candy and chocolate than would be recommended for a normal person. Ralf Steiner, however, was not a normal person.
 
Actual clothes were still kind of a weird concept to him. He could, after all, just MAKE clothes, so why wear them? No one had been able to answer that question without turning all manner of red in the face, so it seemed like the right thing to do just to give in to the request. He tugged a bit at the collar of the black sweatshirt he was wearing--it just seemed like the thing to put on, and it really was a warmer option than just using his powers. Summer was going to be interesting.

The idea of going to the moon was too awesome to pass. The fact that he didn't even breathe and could survive without oxygen hadn't been lost on him, which meant that he could REALLY look at things. Plus, souvenirs! Always a plus. He wasn't 100% sure how the others would fare though... Most of them weren't even aware of what he was. 

Then again, neither was he. Not really.

"So wait a minute," he said, raising a hand as he spoke. "...this elevator. Is going to the moon. Right?" There was no shortage of skepticism in his voice, though that was mixed in with a hefty helping of enthusiasm. The concept was tough to wrap his head around... and he was prepared to ask all the questions. All the questions. He was mentally prepared for some sort of rocket or something but this seemed much, much cooler.

Tagging!

Amorph
None :I

Arcturus

>Bright Lights and Good Cheer

Crusader
None :I

Errant

 

His brightly colored eyes looked to Maxima, and while the mask he wore hide his face, it was almost a plea to get him away from his fellows.  Then they closed.  "Errant is within five feet of all of you.  He is not appreciative of the talk of his failings in such a fashion, as he is abundantly aware of them.  Especially due to the efforts of others to try and socially engineer him into a person that they feel is better.  Something he never tries to do to others.  Despite all the lectures on ethics he has received.  And his explanations are either looked upon with incomprehension, sympathy, or a combination of the two, so he has given up on trying that"  His annoyance showing, in the sarcasm he used as people spoke about him as if he wasn't there.  As soon as the acrid taste of his anger started to seep, Errant stuffed it back behind whatever door it slipped from.  

 

Ducking his head, he spun to the side, slipping out from under Subito's grasp, and away from anyone's reach, the course plotted methodically before he took it.  "I am here to avoid getting harangued.  Yet by showing up my inadequacies get to be the centerpiece of conversation...  Clearly this was time well spent.  Excuse me I am going to get something eat."    And he spun on his feet, and walked towards the table to pick somethings, already planning on an exit.  Even if he reinforced his El Grouchy image.

Arcturus

Arcturus could see it happening before it actually happened. He'd spent enough time with Errant to know that he valued his personal space pretty highly, and he could almost smell the annoyance in the teen psychic rising exponentially. He cringed inwardly as Errant stormed off; he opened his mouth to stop him, but then thought better of it, shaking his head.

He could appreciate how much effort it took to open up to people; Arcturus still wasn't what one would call extroverted, but a year ago he wouldn't have even come to a party as large as this one. His brow furrowed visibly beneath the cowl; he cleared his throat and started off in Errant's direction. "Excuse me, guys... I'll be back in a bit."

Just getting near the food made him hungry again, and food was as good an excuse as any to follow after Errant. Arc didn't doubt for a second that Errant would try to sneak out of the party at some point--not that Arcturus could stop Errant from leaving if he really wanted to, but he really didn't want that incident to be Errant's sole takeaway from the encounter.

The trick, however, was figuring out what to say to Errant. He didn't at all blame Errant for reacting the way he had... so he asked the first question that came to mind.

"You okay, man?"

Amorph/Ralf Steiner would probably qualify as a Freshman/Super-Sophomore, giving his rather... unique situation.

Sliding to a halt next to Elias, he thumped the other boy on the back, "Hey Errant! You showed! That's awe-whoa" he stopped short, staring open-mouthed in shock at Mali, Giang and Thaelia "I...wow. Ladies" the Hispanic teen looked grave, doffed his hat and made a sweeping bow "I am a churlish wretch, and never thought my schoolmates would ever appear so resplendent('cept Cerys). Forgive my blunder, you look as lovely as the rose-tinted dawn tonight." Looking up he added with grin at Arcturus "Hi there, Arky! How's it goin'?"

Arcturus

Arcturus cringed a little bit. 'Arky'. Subito was... strange. Gregarious to a fault, but Arc really couldn't help but like him for all his quirks. "Heraldo... Happy Holidays." He managed a faint grin. "I can't really complain. I'm here, breathing, et cetera. How've you been?"

He really hadn't seen much of Subito after the incident in the training room, where the Beast Rune had first decided to start getting... aggressive.

Maxima and Crusader exchanged a few more pleaseanties before they parted ways to mingle with the other heroes in the crowd.  Maxima took a few moments to eat what was on her plate before swapping the dish out for a glass of sparkling apple cider.  Her conversation with Velocity kept playing over in her head, about how she started out as a super-hero while she was still in high school. It got her curious what it must be like to be a teenage super-hero.  Sure she had powers back in the day, but fighting crime never even crossed her mind.  She wanted a little more insight into the matter and figured she would invite herself to chat with some of the younger heroes that were present. 

 

Maxima made her way over to the group, stooping low so she was only slightly towering before introducing herself.  "Hello.  I don't believe I've met any of you before.  My name's Maxima, I'm just making the rounds, introducing myself to everyone.  And who might you all be?"

Arcturus

"Arcturus. Nice to meet you. And Happy Holidays."

Arc found his gaze angling upward. It was definitely something that didn't happen too often. Nevertheless, he didn't seem to mind new and unfamiliar company. Instead, he allowed the others to introduce themselves as well.

The entire situation was a far cry from where he'd been not even a year before, and if his journey into his own mindscape had proven anything, it was that he had a lot of room for improvement. It was a nice change of pace, not being so guarded and on edge all the time. Of course, with the Cult of the Beast Rune still at-large, he couldn't completely relax. This was still an enjoyable departure from the craziness that was his regular situation.

Tsunami

Giang could not help but smile slightly at Thaelia's recounting of their encounter with Natas and his mercenaries over the summer. "You are forgetting about the three of us running into that duplicator at the mall just before Thanksgiving." She stated, though it had been something of a frustrating encounter given how the duplicator had basically toyed with them all, using her duplicates as decoys to distract from what she had really been up to.

As Thaelia stepped away a moment, Giang gave Marcus another smile. "But over all things have been rather quite. It has been months since I had to dodge any agents sent by my father or any of Dr. Sin's other lieutenants, though I suppose it's only a matter of time before someone comes after me again." She replied. Although Marcus had not been present at any of the attacks on Giang during his last semester at Claremont, he had certainly heard about how she and John Smith (aka Myrmidon) had been attacked by tong martial artists during the Chinese New Year celebrations in the West End, and then a few months later, Giang, Subito and Serge had been captured and taken to island in the South Pacific where Dr. Sin had an island for training operatives and Cerys, Tona and Morgan had assisted Raven in tracking them down.

As Thaelia returned with a familiar figure in tow, Giang gave a smile of greeting. "Good evening Errant. Happy holidays."

Errant

 

Were it anyone else, he'd have shot Thaelia daggers of bloody murder with his glare at the grabbing and then the hauling.  Instead he tried to wriggle out of her grasp, mostly unsuccessfully.  She was strong, and he wouldn't use his usual tricks to get free.  So he gave up and let himself be led by her, until he was standing there, a seething ball of annoyance.  Though the mask effectively.  "I see most of these people everyday."

 

He sighed, unable to escape her grip, and looked off to the side, appearing as nothing so much as a cat waiting for an opportunity to bolt.  "Hello Tsunami.  Arcturus."  Not that he was looking at them, he rarely did that.  Everyone here knew that he always seemed to be paying attention to other things.

Arcturus

"Errant! Happy Holidays!" He grinned widely and almost gave him a hug. He was certain that was a bad idea, so he just waved as he was more or less dragged over to their group. Having spent some time with Errant, he felt like he understood the quiet psychic a little better. Errant valued his privacy and personal space. If anything, Errant was the one psychic he knew that he could trust.

"You guys have definitely been keeping busy," he said with a nod. "You know you can always call me if you need anything, yeah? The Academy's got my number in last year's directory, and I'm pretty sure they have Parkhurst's number around for magically inclined students..."

Nah, not just yet... Unless you think we should?

Tsunami

 

Giang smiled slightly at Marcus' comment about complaining not doing him any good.  "Well, we would certainly be willing to listen to you complain.  Although I am not entirely sure that would do you any good either, other than to have the chance to do so."

 

"Things have been good for me so far.  This first semester has gone by rather quickly, and has been very quiet for the most part.  But then, given some of what happened back in the early half of the year, it would take a lot to compare."  The Asian teen replied.  That first semester she had spent at Claremont had indeed been a rather chaotic time, starting almost immediately with the events of the Day of Wrath at the start of the year and almost finishing the school year with herself, Subito and Serge being kidnapped by one of Dr. Sin's lieutenants and having to be rescued from a Pacific island training facility for Dr. Sin's operatives by Raven and a group of other Claremont students.

Thaelia looked at Marcus absent-minded as she formed the words for a response. "I too have little in the way of complaints either. Other than the fragility of these so called cellular devices. A bigger room would also be pleasant. As Giang says we are willing to listen to any ails." The Atlantean smiled before continuing. "So what is it you have decided to do at Parkhurst? I know these two were discussing their after graduation plans a while back. It might be interesting to hear from someone who has actually gone back to life outside the academy.  Tales of woe and intrigue?" Her voice elevating slightly with excitement at the prospect of hearing Arcturus' tales.

Arcturus

"I know the feeling... I broke my share of cell phones when I was at Claremont. They just don't make 'em sturdy enough for bear paws, I guess." Marcus laughed; for the longest time, he went without one because he was tired of replacing them.

"I had a little bit of an incident at the end of the semester that made it kind of hard to start college right after so I decided to do a little bit of personal research instead. Trying to get a solid grip on the whole magic thing." Vague as it was, Arc still didn't like talking about what had happened in May. Only he and one other person in the room knew what happened, and while he'd somewhat gotten over it, he still was dealing with some of the emotional and physical aftermath of it. His regenerative abilities, after all, couldn't heal everything.

"I've actually started looking at magic on a global scale. It's really more of a hobby than anything else... That field trip to Africa really got me thinking, but I haven't figured out a real, practical use for it or the random magical contraptions I've been building. Other than that... working in the Theatre District is what's paying the bills. Set design is actually a lot of fun. Keeps me occupied when I'm not rooting around in the dark for things that go bump in the night."

"But that's enough about me," he said, a bit embarrassed about having gone on as long as he did. He never was much for talking about himself. It was that party at War-Earth all over again. "I'm sure you guys have plenty of stories to tell, too!"

Maxima shook her head laughing.  "Guess that makes me the newbie.  If you go by when I put on the tights, I'm still a rookie." confessed Maxima now having even more of a respect for the people standing around her.  I couldn't image going to school and trying to be a superhero at the same time.  Who would have time for-- oh, right.  Super-speed.  thought Maxima now a bit envious of Velocity, and also annoyed that her own experiments into developing anything other than increased strength and toughness had gone precisely nowhere.  "I've had my powers for a little longer than a decade now, but they didn't start becoming as... pronounced... as they are until recently."  continued Maxima, now realizing that she could have been training for this lifestyle for a couple of years now, rather than come into it raw.  

Crusader

"I can understand that; I wouldn't let the 'new' thing get you down. Compared to the other Crusaders before me, I've still got a ways to go. Kinda makes me a little envious of some of these kids..." He laughed at the notion, looking around the room. There were plenty of heroes not much older than some of his students. For all he knew, some of them could very well have been his students. "But I guess in a way, I've got heroing in my genes. Don't get me wrong... I don't have powers or anything, just a really good sense of direction!"

Velocity

 

Velocity could not help but smile slightly as Maxima dropped down to one knee in order to be closer down to the level of everyone else.  She could imagine being so tall was at times very inconvenient.  But the muscular heroine certainly looked formidable.

 

"So, I know Silver pretty well," the speedster began, giving her friend a small smile, "what about you two?"  She continued, glancing at first Maxima and then Crusader.  "You been at the superhero thing for very long?"

 

"Myself, it has been...wow, seven years or so now, but then I got started when I was still in high school."

Crusader

"About... three years, technically." Crusader had to seriously think about it, nodding slowly. Maxima's height didn't seem to bother him; if it did, he didn't show any real outward sign of noticing. "The mantle just sort of fell into my lap from the Crusader before me... and even then, that was after college. I can't help but feel like there's more I could be doing but it's been kind of a rough year."

Power Level: 10 (150/154PP)

Trade-Offs: +2 Toughness / -2 Defense

Unspent PP: 4

In-Brief: Experimental life form with the mind of a teenager

Alternate Identities: Ralf Steiner

Identity: Public

Birthplace: Munich, Germany

Occupation: Student

Affiliations: None

Family: Andrew Steiner (adopted father)

Age: 2 (though mentally around 16)

Gender: Male

Ethnicity: ???

Height: 5' 8"

Weight: 175 lbs

Eyes: Green

Hair: Black (usually)

Description: In his raw, undisguised form, Ralf is a slender, vaguely humanoid blob with large, muscular looking limbs. He tends to look more than a little monstrous when not in disguise, sporting a large maw and large, glowing yellow eyes. His Claremont uniform typically consists of little more than a pair of baggy blue pants and a pair of black bracers that cover half of his forearms.

Though he can look any way he pleases for the most part, he tends to walk around on the day to day looking like a teenager, based largely off of a picture of his creator when he was younger. In this particular form, he's a tall, somewhat gangly young man with black hair and green eyes.

Power Descriptions: Ralf is a vaguely humanoid gelatinous blob, able to stretch his body and pass between a liquid-like and solid state almost at will. Because his entire body is a weapon, he uses it as such in often inventive ways, striking with mallet-sized fists (or actual mallets!) from a significant distance.

History: Andrew Steiner was tasked by SHADOW to create a weapon: a life form that could cause untold destruction while being durable enough to withstand anything that any hero could throw at it. After years of development, he created an amorphous blob creature named RALF: Recombinant Artificial Life Form. It had everything that SHADOW asked it for--strength, durability, and the potential to cause significant destruction if mass produced.

During the testing and experiments, however, Steiner noticed that his creation had odd quirks. While it didn't require sustenance in the traditional sense, it snatched a candy bar from an unwitting technician and immediately ate it. And it seemed to enjoy it. After six months, it began mimicking the speech of those around it. In time, it learned not only to speak, but to read and write as well. It started asking question, learning at a rapid rate with the curiosity and innocence typical of a child.

Steiner realized what he had created, and that handing RALF over and turning him into a weapon would be a terrible mistake. This fact became all the more clear when RALF was put into combat testing and showed a clear reluctance to harm living targets, constantly questioning his handlers.

Steiner fled to America, taking RALF with him. Giving him a name and instructing the still evolving life form to disguise himself in a form fitting his intellectual age, Steiner contacted Claremont Academy to put Ralf in their care before he disappeared.

Personality & Motivations: Ralf is a playful individual, always quick with a joke or a witty retort. At a glance, he seems to take almost nothing seriously, and his general nature and energy border on the hyperactive. Still, he knows his situation and rails against the idea of someone else using him to harm others. His lessons in morality are, in his mind, a personal connection to the man who created him, and he'll do whatever he has to in order to honor it.

Ralf is an uncompromisingly honest person--perhaps a little too honest. In most matters, he doesn't really know how to pull his punches, either physically or emotionally, which can often lead to a little bit of awkwardness and unintended friction with other people. He knows he's not perfect, however, and that's just one of many things he needs to learn.

Powers & Tactics: Ralf tends to use his superior physical strength and durability to his advantage, and is perfectly fine with wading into a fight, fists swinging. His ability to stretch his limbs only lends to his preference for slugging it out with an opponent, and his elusive nature is often used as a distraction to allow heavier hitters to take advantage of the situation.

His unusual body structure allows him to use more than just his arms as weapon; able to bounce from place to place, climb and suspend himself from walls, and use his entire body to snare opponents, Ralf can be incredibly unpredictable, but the constant is always about his mobility.

Complications:

Enemy: SHADOW wants its biological weapon back.

It Ain't Easy...: All of Ralf's humanoid forms have green eyes.

Keep It Together: Ralf has a tough time maintaining a disguise in the presence of water. While he can at least keep his basic form intact, anything more doesn't hold up, even rain.

Sweet Tooth: Ralph can eat just about anything. Though he has no appetite to speak of, he can't resist sugar.

Trophy Hunter: Ralf often feels like everything he does needs commemorating, and often looks to collect souvenirs from encounters.

Abilities: 0 + 8 + 24 + 2 + 0 + 4 = 38PP

Strength: 10/30 (+10)

Dexterity:  18 (+4)

Constitution: 34 (+12)

Intelligence: 12 (+1)

Wisdom: 10 (+0)

Charisma: 14 (+2)

Combat: 16 + 16 = 32PP

Initiative: +4

Attack: +8 (+10 melee)

Grapple: +28

Defense: +8 (8, +0 Dodge Focus) / +4 flat-footed

Knockback: -6

Saving Throws: 0 + 2 + 6 = 8 PP

Toughness: +12

Fortitude: +12 (+12 Con, 0)

Reflex: +6 (+4 Dex, 2)

Will: +6 (+0 Wis, 6)

Skills: 32R = 8PP

Acrobatics 4 (+8)

Bluff 10 (+12)

Disguise 4 (+6)

Escape Artist 0 (+9 Elongation)

Intimidate 4 (+6)

Language (Native: German; English)

Notice 4 (+4)

Perform (acting) 3 (+5)

Stealth 2 (+6)

Feats: 5PP

Attack Focus (melee) 2

Distract (Bluff)

Improved Grab

Improved Grapple

Powers: 6 + 6 + 5 + 23 + 7 + 6 + 6 = 59PP

Elongation 5 (100 ft range, 50 ft increments, +5 Escape and Grapple) [5PP]

AP: Leaping 5 (x50; 250/500/1000 high/standing/running jump) [1PP]

Immunity 6 (Critical hits, disease, poison, suffocation) [6PP]

Insubstantial 1 (fluid) [5PP]

Morph 10 (Broad--any humanoid, +50 disguise) [23PP]

AP: Bouncing 9 (PFs: Move-by Action, Ricochet) [1PP]

AP: Enhanced Strength 20 [1PP]

AP: Snare 10 (Flaw: Distracting, Ex: Engulf, Regenerating) [1PP]

Regeneration 6 (Injured 6 [1/round]; PF: Regrowth) [7PP]

Super Movement 3 (Slithering, Sure-Footed 1, Wall-Crawling) [6PP]

Super Strength 3 (+15 STR, heavy load: 6.4 tons) [6PP]

Drawbacks: -0PP

Abilities (38) + Combat (34) + Saving Throws (8) + Skills (8) + Feats (5) + Powers (59) - Drawbacks (0) = 150/154 Power Points

DC Block

Attack     Range   Save                    Effect
============================================================================
Unarmed    Melee   DC25 TOU [Staged]       Damage [Physical]
Snare      Melee   DC20 Reflex [Staged]    Bound/Entangled

GM

Frank was still wildly off balance from the blow to the back of the knees, giving Mess quite an opening. The heavy blows to the body doubled the already unbalanced Riveter over, and the shot to the head that followed didn't make his situation any better. The combo sent Mazziari crashing to the ground, the lead pipe he'd been holding skidding across the ground and underneath another vehicle.

Crusader was a little stunned himself, though not nearly enough to have forgotten why he was there to begin with. "I'm only gonna ask this once. Ben Noble... you know him, right?"

"...heh..." The Riveter managed a laugh, spitting red at Crusader's boots. "If that loser owes you money, you're probably too late to collect..."

Crusader's expression changed instantly, barely perceptible underneath his mask but obvious in his body language. He grabbed Riveter by the collar and hauled the big man up to his knees. "You're not in a position to make jokes, Francis."

Knockback check ends up being less than 5 feet, so now he's prone on top of everything else! (Incoming GM post!)

Crusader's going to skip his turn entirely (as per his complication about not hitting downed opponents!) so...

TOOK THE CROSS by Thevshi

Crusader

4 PP to spend

Feats (2 PP)

Adding All-Out Attack and Elusive Target.

Powers (2 PP)

Adding PF: Innate to Leaping and Speed (which I should've done a long while ago; overlooked it.)

TOU check [DC 27]: (1d20+10=17)

So now he's Bruised x1, Staggered, and Stunned. Riveter is definitely seeing stars now.

Crusader :: 27 -- Unharmed

Bloody Mess :: 23 -- Unharmed

Thugs [4] :: 6 -- Unconscious

Riveter :: 5 -- Bruised, Staggered, Stunned

Which means Crusader's up again!

Arcturus

Bright Lights & Good Cheer

Junk & Scrap

Spirits Within

Crusader

Bright Lights & Good Cheer

My Brother's Keeper

GM/NPC

My Brother Keeper [points to be applied to Crusader]

Crusader wasn't at all discouraged by having done little to nothing to the Riveter.  He wisely moved well out of the way before Mess had swung the car at the metallic giant, which gave him pause--it wasn't exactly something he'd expected. Not to be outdone, he rushed forward, dropping low and swinging his shield while it was still in hand. It slammed right into the back of Riveter's left knee, making him stagger as his legs threatened to give out underneath him.

The bigger they are...

Yep, and since Crusader's up next, he's going to make use of Unbalancing Strike!

Attack Roll (Unbalancing Strike): (1d20+8=21)

vs. Riveter's Reflex save:

REF save [DC 18]: (1d20+7=17)

And he's stumbling all over himself and loses his dodge bonus.

Mess is up next then; posting IC in the meanwhile!

GM

Riveter actually looked surprised for a second as the car nailed him, sending him sprawling backward. It wasn't quite enough to knock him over though, and he snagged a lead pipe off the ground, attempting to hit a home run with Mess's body.

"You little..." He snarled at Mess, muttering words that might give sailors pause, hitting the ground with his swing hard enough to send sparks flying.

Arcturus was in trouble.

Despite all the confidence he'd had in telling the other woman to leave, he couldn't help but think that decision was a bad one. Somehow, Gauntlet was stronger than he remembered, and being pinned down by hundreds of pounds of living armor was incredibly painful. He was doing all he could not to be crushed between the golem and the cavern wall. He couldn't even think of a cynical comeback; just surviving, at this point, was paramount...

In the back of Arc's mind, though, he could feel his grip on the Beast Rune slipping. He could sense something brewing, taking advantage of his fear and split focus... Damn it... not now...

"Interrupting? Not at all." Crusader offered an encouraging smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Maxima."

"Normally I would try and make a break for dry clothes but, my stomach has other ideas."  Before she could ask what the League had to offer their guests, they were greeted by another one of Freedom's heroes.  Nodding towards the newest arrival, "A pleasure to meet you Maxima.  You know, the longer I look around the room, the more I'm disappointed in myself for not networking in the community more."

 

"C'est la vie," she shrugged.  Feeling like it was up to her to get the conversation started past the introductions she set aside plans of food and dry clothes, "So, everyone get their Christmas shopping done?  Or are you guys like me and tend to wait until the last minute?"

"I've done most of mine already. Still a few things to pick up and a birthday gift to buy, but I think I've got it pretty well managed this year. I think I can relate to the networking thing too..." He looked around the room and nodded. He wondered just how many of these heroes the Crusader before him, his father, knew. "But hey, that's a good reason to be here too, right?"

Glamazon

 

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.  Happy holidays."  Arcturus was a familiar sight, as were the rest whom had pictures in the school as being Claremont alumni.  But she was someone he had actually seen walking around the campus before.  Not that they had ever spoken.  Which did help to bring to Thaelia's attention in the party full of the grand most were strangers to her eyes.  The oft boisterous girl managing to find a slight moment of self-consciousness which quickly passed as she adjusted herself.

 

Her eyes locked with admiration on Maxima in the distance for a moment.  Even though Thaelia was still growing she was pretty much used to the fact that there weren't any female heroes that she would have to tilt her head up to speak to.  But by comparison for the first time in a long while the demigoddess felt small.  Thaelia had no idea whom the heroine was, but it was a sight that made her downright excited for sure.

Crimson Tiger

 

For the first time in quite a while, Mali entered a room and barely knew anyone. She'd heard stories, of course. She recognized Asad as an associate of her father's, she knew Foreshadow from some previous dealings. Velocity she'd seen quite a few times on tv and pictures, being rather famous among certain circles. Mali made it a habit of knowing a lot about heroes, especially some of the female heroes who were personal inspirations to her, like the Raven.

 

Though she'd never met Arcturus in person to her recollection, a guy like him didn't exactly go under the radar. "Hi Arcturus." She said with a pleasant smile. "Nice to see you, Merry Christmas."

 

She waved at Crusader, who she didn't recognize, but probably had heard of at least once. Claremont was filled with not just students learning to be heroes, but hero fans, so most of the heroes in the room were known to someone.

 

Giang glanced over at the sound of the voice that greeted her and her friends as they entered.  "Merry Christmas."  She said in reply, giving a slight bow to the tall man who was talking with two other heroines, one of whom was one of the Freedom League members.  But before she could say anything further, another familiar voice called out in greeting as well.

 

 

The Asian teen turned to see Marcus approaching and gave the recent Claremont alum a small smile.  Though she did not know him particularly well, the two had been part of a group of Claremont students that had gone to Mozambique to assist with some disaster recovery after a flood last Spring.  "Happy Holidays Arcturus.  How have you been?"

Arcturus

"I can't complain," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "Wouldn't do me any good anyway. How about you? I don't see much of you guys since I don't live on campus anymore... I kind of miss it, actually. But my room at Parkhurst is bigger, so it works out."

He really did; it was only after graduating and dealing with the Beast Rune on a more personal level that he realized just how much he was holding himself back. It was a series of lessons he wasn't going to forget any time soon.

Arcturus

Arc wasn't far behind the Solar Sentinel when it came to food. He made himself a sizeable plate and nearly half of it was gone by the time he spotted Glamazon,  Crimson Tiger, and Tsunami. Tsunami was really the only one he could recall having talked to for any length of time, but he'd seen the others around Claremont several times before he'd graduated in May. It seemed only fitting for him to go over and say hello. "Hey! Happy Holidays and such."