Russoboo

Darren's eyes flashed down to Marcel's hand and then back up to the other boy's face as he smiled. He shook the offered hand and added "Darren Stelzer, nice to meet you all, though I guess we've, like, been together for awhile now. Better late than never." After a flurry of introductions, the other three parted ways, together, and Darren found himself left standing in the classroom with Elias and Subito. He turned to face them, smile tamed to a little curve of his mouth, and tipped his head to the side in thought. His thumb dragged down his jaw. "So, like, I'm really not much of an extra-credit Type A student and I'd rather not with this whole thing, but..." Darren bit his lip. "I only started using Anna's notes recently, so I've got like half a semester of not so great tests I need to make up for. If we just write it, that's, like, three pages each, we could do that easy."

Darren had been mostly paying attention to the lecture, since this one thankfully had the decency to include slides, no matter how spotty and faded they'd gotten since the sixties. He'd even managed to take what he hoped was an adequate amount of notes, though he expected he'd missed a bit of the more subtle interstellar political intrigue. At the first sign class was over, he capped his pen (today's was green), closed his notebook, and slid his phone out of his pocket and navigated to a new tweet almost on muscle memory. Darren was up and nearly through the door to the hall before the sound of his name struck him. He stopped, locked and stowed his phone, and turned to face Dr. Valero and his classmates. A glance at Subito and Elias - he liked both of them individually, so together seemed fine, too. The other three weren't nearly so familiar to him. He looked at the carpet for a moment and then up to Dr. Valero with a sheepish smile. "Thanks, but, like, I only did as well as I did 'cause I kind of looked at my sister's notes from last year since she's a total control freak perfectionist who keeps that kind of stuff around." He rocked back on his heels. "And this is worth, like, extra credit, right?"

Sounds good, let's do it.

Darren touched his fingertips to his heart. "Please, nothing about my talk is, like, random. I just like to throw out a lot of red herrings, keep people on their metaphorical toes. It's a good way to weed out the normals - they can't handle it. Get all confused and angry, it's really quite cute." He blinked slowly, looked down at his book, and then up towards the sky with pursed lips. "But, I guess that didn't work on you.Hmm hmm." With a stretch, Darren stood up off his lounge chair, which fell into a cloud of glittering dust that disappeared in the air. He stuffed his book back into his bag, then smiled at Marcus. "Maybe I misjudged you a little. Anyone who can actually, like, admit that I know what I'm doing can't be completely boring. Still a bit on the plebeish side, but this is America, right? Upward mobility!" Darren waved his phone. "Give me your number. Maybe I'll even help you with, like, super people problems or something."

"Yeah, I guess there would be. Rules, that is. Claremont's pretty big on them, but, like, sometimes you just gotta play outside the lines." Darren stopped to consider what he'd said, then frowned. "Not for, like, a bad reason, but I'd say 'someone altered my memories' should be a compelling reason to make an exception, right? Well, whatever, if they won't help, I'm sure you'll figure something out. You're a smart guy." He rolled his shoulders. "I feel kinda useless right now. Like, I find out you've got a little programmed amnesia and there's nothing I can do about it. Except, like..." Darren hummed and folded his arms together. "I'm not exactly a model Claremont student, but I might be able to call in some favors if you find something specific you need."

Player Name: Russoboo Character Name: Armada Power Level: 7 (105/105PP) Trade-Offs: -5 Defense / +5 Toughness Unspent Power Points: 0 Progress To Bronze Status: 0/30 In Brief: Modern day mythical hero sponsored by treasure-loving spirit. Alternate Identity: Matvey "Matthew" Lagunov Identity: Secret Birthplace: Chicago, IL Occupation: Singed Affiliations: Parkhurst Mystics Family: Description: Age: 24 (DoB: December 2nd, 1988) Apparent Age: 24 Gender: Male Ethnicity: Caucasian Height: 5'10" Weight: 170 lbs Eyes: Hazel Hair: Red-Brown (Physical Description) Power Descriptions: Armada's powers are magical in nature, but require no incantations or gestures. Quite simply, he is capable of summoning duplicates of legendary and mythical arms and armor. The summons are usually accompanied by flashes of light, rushes of hot forge air, or the din of battle, rendering Armada's powers somewhat theatrical by default. Rather than cast spells himself, he relies exclusively on the powers and abilities forged into each individual weapon. History: Personality & Motivation: Powers & Tactics: Complications: Abilities: 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 8 = 8PP Strength: 10 (+0) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 10 (+0) Intelligence: 10 (+0) Wisdom: 10 (+0) Charisma: 18 (+4) Combat: 14 + 4 = 18PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +7 (+7 Base) Grapple: +0 Defense: +2 (+2 Base), +5 Flat-Footed Knockback: -0 Saving Throws: 5 + 4 + 5 = 18PP Toughness: +12 (+12 Protection) Fortitude: +6 (+6) Reflex: +6 (+6) Will: +6 (+6) Skills: 32R = 8PP Bluff 4 (+8) Diplomacy 4 (+8) Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 4 (+4) Knowledge (Pop Culture) 5 (+5) Language 1 (English [native], Russian) Notice 4 (+4) Perform (Singing) 6 (+10) Sense Motive 4 (+4) Feats: 9PP Elusive Target Evasion 2 Improved Critical 2 [Recast] Interpose Move-By Action Quick Change Takedown Attack Powers: 8 + 22 + 12 + 2 = 54 pp Damage 7 ("Recast"; summon, magic, weapon; PFs: Variable Descriptor 1 [any physical damage type]) [8pp] Mythical Weapons (summon, magic, weapon; PFs: Alternate Power 8) [22pp] BP: Concealment 7 (Tarnkappe; visual [all], hearing [all], olfactory [normal]) [14/14]AP: Dazzle (Visual) 7 (Excalibur; light) [14/14] AP: Emotion Control 7 (Cupid's Arrow) [14/14] AP: ESP (Visual/Auditory) 7 (The Smoking Mirror; Flaws: Feedback) [14/14] AP: Flight 7 (Prince Husain's Carpet; Extras: Affects Others; Flaws Platform; 1000 mph) [14/14] AP: Nullify Magic 7 (Ring of Dispel; Extras: Area [burst]; Flaws: Range [Touch]) [14/14] AP: Snare 7 (Gleipnir; metal, chain) [14/14] AP: Adds Area [Line] and Penetrating 7 to Damage (Riyu Jingu Bang) [14/14] AP: Adds Range [Ranged] and Autofire 1 to Damage (Gandiva) [14/14] Protection 12 (Aegis; summon, magic, metal, armor; Extras: Force Field [+0]) [12pp] Speed 2 (Seven-League Boots; magic; 25 mph) [2pp] Drawbacks: 0PP None DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC15 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Damage Touch DC22 Toughness (Staged) Damage (Physical) Dazzle Ranged DC22 Reflex Visual Dazzle Emotion Control Ranged DC22 Will Various Nullify Burst DC22 Will Counter Snare Ranged DC22 Reflex Entangled/BoundTotals: Abilities (8) + Combat (18) + Saving Throws (18) + Skills (8) + Feats (9) + Powers (54) - Drawbacks (0) = 105/105 Power Points

"Everyone's out to prove something. Especially everyone here. The kinds of kids who go to super school aren't exactly the most self-confident on the whole." Darren drummed his fingers down the spine of his book. He gave Marcus a bit of a bored stare, then rolled his eyes. His phone started to buzz - he unlocked it and started to swipe his way through the menus to race out a text message. "Unfortunately, like, one of my super powers is the power to be super talkative, I really can't control the deluge sometimes. It can be a total handful, you have no idea how hard it is for me to keep quiet during, like, tests and stuff. Just awful!" Darren smiled at his screen. "And anyway, I was going to say that, like, you should try to think of your magic conduit as a prism when you're channeling light as your source. Light bends, but it doesn't shape, so you can't think of it like any of the more classical elements, right? Totally clutch magical theory here."

"And that's the last you heard from them? Definitely doesn't sound good..." Darren rubbed his chin with his thumb as he slid in a slow backwards circle. He flexed his other hand open and closed - little flecks of crystal twinkled and faded in rhythm. "I want you to show me, but here probably, like, isn't the right place for that." "Have you asked anyone at Claremont? About the memory thing, I mean. I obviously don't know too much about how telepathy works, but, like, another psychic might be able to poke around and fix it, right? Teacher or student, doesn't matter. Or maybe someone like Morgan can give you a magic reboot." He angled his feet and his skating slowed to a stop. "I'm a little surprised you can't do it yourself, actually. Does pointing telepathy at yourself make, like, a feedback loop or something?"

"Wow. I don't think I can even make a daddy issues joke about that, he sounds a psycho. But I guess that's, like, par for the course for fascism." Darren rubbed at the back of his neck and gave Elias a little frown. He nudged the other boy with his elbow and jerked his thumb over his shoulder, back towards the open ice. With a shuffle of cloth, he stuffed one hand in a pocket for warmth and turned his cup over in the other. "It is kind of a bombshell, but it seems like something you should talk about. Like anything else, if it's getting all heavy on you, just tell me about it and I promise to keep my freaking out to a minimum level. Expression is the better part of valor." Darren tapped a skate against the ice. "What happened to your mom, if I can ask? He didn't, like...catch her, did he?"

"Hmm." Darren turned about, slid back in a shallow loop on his right foot. "Sometimes I forget that you're, like, not just a psychic receiver, you can actually transmit, too. I'm so used to having completely one-track powers, I get a little dumb about it. Keeping it all under control is very, well, pragmatic of you, then. Although," he drained the last of his cocoa with a glug, "and this is something a shrink told me, so you know it's a terrible idea, you need some outlet. Control is great up until it slips and you don't know what to do about it. Like, I'm sure that won't happen, but it'd still probably be good to find someone you can't push." "Like, an echo chamber." He shook his head. "No, wait, that sounds like a feedback loop. More like...one of those music rooms with the soundproof walls? Yeah." Darren pointed the cup first at Elias and then at himself. "I'd totally volunteer if you wanted, but, like, I'd need to get some extracurriculars on psy-defense first. Maybe a robot, do we know any of those? Not the murder rampage kind, though." "And," he put a hand over his heart and mock stumbled, "I can't believe you'd, like, wound me like that! I'm not Gossip Girl here, I'm actually very, very good at keeping secrets when I need to. Or when I'm asked to. But even though you didn't, I think I'll still be quiet about it. Like you said, people probably wouldn't believe it without seeing it, so they'd just think I'm some horrible rumor mill even though I'm one-hundred percent honest a lot of the time."

Darren crossed his arms over his chest and pulled in a breath. He sighed and fog billowed out of his mouth. He tipped his head towards Elias. "Well, it still, like, freaks me out a little to think of all that happening, but if you say you're fine, then I believe you. It definitely explains a lot, I guess. Like, gives me a better frame of reference." Darren reached back and picked up his own cocoa, then took a drink, albeit quieter than Elias. He wobbled around Elias and got a few from the bench before he turned on his skates. "And I agree, like, you probably should feel something about it all, but I also get it, you know?" "It's totally uncool to compare traumas, so I won't, but sometimes the big things, the stuff that makes us who and how we are, they can, like, be too big to get emotional about. They just are. Most people, I think, have something like that. It's, like, a defense mechanism." Darren's eyes flicked down to his dwindling supply of hot chocolate. "You know, if this was a date, this would be, like, completely inappropriate and no one would call back for a second date." His lips twitched back around a smile. "Lucky for you, I'm not just here for your pretty face. How confidential do you want this conversation to be, by the way?"

"I'm not terrified, it just-" Darren paused and scrunched up his face, but the words didn't come to him. He deflated. "You're right, the reason doesn't really matter. I guess if I really trusted you, I wouldn't think I needed to shut you out." Darren looked up at Elias curiously as the boy stood and turned. He stared at Elias' stomach, eyes almost level with the hand-shaped scar, and lay a hand over his mouth. His eyes turned up to meet Elias' and Darren seemed suddenly small. He reached out to tug at the hem of Elias' shirt and bring it back down, and his other hand left his mouth enough for him to find his voice. "That's...not what I expected. I'm sorry." Darren moved his cocoa to the bench and stood up, then wrung his hands. "I feel like, like, I should hug you, but I can understand why you maybe wouldn't want that, so I won't if you don't want to. I can't even imagine."

"Subito is kind of a doof, but sometimes he knows what's up. Considering how he is around me, I wouldn't be surprised if he was carrying a little torch for you, too." Darren tittered into the curve of his hand. He gave Elias a sidelong glance. "I guess the whole active superheroes thing does, like, necessitate some risk-taking behavior from all of us. Question was more about if you'd do the same kind of thing in your free time, if you think that risking bodily harm is fun on top of whatever other aspect motivates you to dress up and beat up criminals. My powers sort of obviate the need for the extreme sports side of things, which is perfect for me." Darren looked down at his drink, where he had it resting on one knee. His other leg bounced, restless. "Look, let me hash it out like this. I've told you that I'm not normally big on sharing, so I totally get why you'd want to avoid introducing any awkwardness. And, like, I'm not going to try to force information out of you." He turned to Elias with a sly grin. "But short of telling me 'Darren, the truth is I hate you, please die and/or never speak to me again', I'm pretty sure whatever awkward you've got, I can handle. We can even do, like, equivalent exchange here."

Darren shrugged. "I'm no telepath, I just get people. And like..." he rolled his hands through the air as he thought, "I'm used to that specific sentiment, it's pretty much been the kneejerk reaction to me since I got to Claremont. I can't say it isn't unfounded, either." Darren smiled, coy but teasing. "I mean, I am rich and I know how to be condescending, don't I? Well, I guess I personally wouldn't consider it condescending when I really am just better. More like all my pity for the little people just gets taken the wrong way." He looked back down at the book in his lap and started to read again. "So, you're giving up then, right? I was, like, curious to see if you'd actually figure your spell out, but I suppose I'll just have to be disappointed. Not really surprised, though." Darren brushed his thumb against his lip. "I even had some sage advice tucked away, but I'm not about to force it on you. That'd be, like, totally rude."

Adamas (10) (13) (2)

Darren rolled his eyes at Marcus, as obvious as possible. He scanned down the page he was on, then turned to the next one, and let out a little spiraling sigh. "It was what you meant, you just don't want to admit that this rich snob you just met has you figured out already. You probably, like, want to think that Marcus Irons is complicated and deep, but really he's just a kid with magic powers and...hmm..." Darren looked up from his book and framed Marcus between his hands like a photo op. "I'm gonna say something...home life troubles. Magic powers and, like, parental baggage. And the very common presumption that no one can figure that out by looking at you." He sniffled and ran a hand through his hair, played with it. "Normal, normal, normal. Fight or flight is so last season, why even bother?"

"You'd do it again, huh? I like that, very no regrets. It's not like it was a big mistake, anyway, no one died or anything crazy." Darren glared down at his hot chocolate as he spoke. It was a little too hot to drink quickly and he didn't particularly want to go diamond form in the middle of an ice rink just for some cocoa. He went back to blowing on it to cool it down and made his way over to the bench where Elias had taken a seat. With some difficulty, Darren managed to sit down next to the other boy. He tapped his toes together to shake some of the ice shavings off his skates. "We used to do all kinds of, like, crazy rich people high adventure stuff. Cross country, rock climbing, snorkeling. I drew the line at bungee jumping, really wasn't so excited about potentially breaking my neck. Anna still goes for that whole mess, I find it pretty awful." He drummed his fingers on his knee and took a drink. "What about you? You don't strike me as much of an adrenaline junkie, either."

"That's the point. Control freak? So is everybody else, it's so, like, common." Darren fished through his bag for a candy bar, chocolate and caramel, which he ripped open and took a bite of. He spoke as he ate, but kept his fingers over his mouth for some measure of politeness. "You gotta, like, think of it this way. What you're trying to do is squeeze the ocean into a bottle instead of just, like, trying to channel the river." He bobbed his head. "There are other ways to handle your awesome power and responsibility than keeping it in a box and only letting it out when it's convenient for you. Didn't anyone ever tell you it's okay to shine?" Darren chomped his way through the rest of the chocolate and swallowed before he went on. "Of course I know him, I know everyone. But, like, to answer the question you meant to ask, yes, we're friends. Maybe that'll make it easier for you to see where my bar for interesting is."

Darren smirked. "I've had them run screaming, but only ever towards me, not away, so there's that. I was in talks for a marketing deal in Japan for a bit, but, like, I was advised that it might affect my credibility in the states. Many a screaming fangirl anyway." He set his book upside down in his lap and pulled out his phone. After a few seconds of fiddling, he turned the screen to show Marcus an picture of himself in full bear mode on what looked like a street downtown. "You're right, they definitely could have gotten some better CGI for this, maybe it wasn't in the budget after, like, shooting on location." "And wanting to be subtle or whatever, that's fine, it's just kind of missing the point. Yeah, you've got powers, so does everyone else on campus. You're not even the only person who can turn into a bear and probably not the only, like, kid wizard who can do it, either. If we're being relativistic, and we are, that doesn't matter." Darren pulled his phone back, locked it, and hid it away again. He wagged a finger at Marcus. "This'll sound so made-for-TV, but boring is on the inside. You're the kind of person who says 'you don't know me', and all that does is signal that you're not worth getting to know. If I was Elias, this is where I'd undercut any response by, like, preemptively accusing you of getting defensive over a simple statement of fact." He wriggled into a more comfortable position. "Luckily, I'm not him, bless his little telepathic heart."

"There's nothing wrong with being normal per se, like, I wouldn't say something stupid like 'normal people are worthless'. That'd be insensitive or something." Darren flipped a page and put his thumb over the first word to mark his place. He looked up and held up his other hand towards Marcus so he could count off on his fingers. "It just means one of two things. Either you're boring or you're lazy. Sometimes both. It's not bad, it's just a thing. That's all." Darren didn't bat an eye at Marcus's crackle of energy or his obviously rising temper, but decided instead to turn back to his book. "I'm what you might call, like, an out superhero. Everyone with access to Google knows I have powers whether I want them to or not, so what's the point of hiding them? I don't go around giving laser light shows, but I don't live a tortured existence of trying to hide my true self from people on the street." He worried his lower lip a moment. "Well, no angst about the powers, at least."

Darren didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Marcus with one eyebrow up just enough to be intentional and a tight smile. There was a lot he could say and almost as much that he wanted to, but he refrained. He whisked his hands up and a lounge chair creaked and crackled into existence behind him, solid crystal and slightly cloudy from a lack of effort. Darren turned about and sat on the edge of the chair as he opened his book bag and withdrew a copy of Le Petit Prince, then reclined and opened the book to an earmarked page. He pointed one finger overhead and a thin dome of diamond burst forth and planted itself into the ground with a pole, giving him the fanciest umbrella imaginable. Darren cleared his throat. "I thought, like, maybe you'd be more interesting, less normal, but I guess lightning doesn't strike twice. Just pretend I'm not here, I have to read this for like the fourth time by tomorrow."

"Light as a weapon? Like a laser, right? Pew pew!" Darren poked his fingers through the air with a chuckle. He pulled back his enthusiasm and brushed his fingers back through his hair. "That's cool, though, being able to channel elemental stuff like that. Though, I mean, considering the name Arcturus, I can see why you'd be a little pissed about not, like, being able to use light on the first try. Good thing astronomy isn't in right now, right?" "But, really, like, don't pat yourself on the back too hard there, wow." He dropped to a squat and plucked a brown blade of glass out of the lawn, then stood back up with the plant between his thumb and forefinger. As he spoke, the piece of grass drained of color, turned glossy, and went rigid until he held a tiny prism of crystal in his hand. "You think this doesn't need a bit of focus? When I first got my powers, I crystalized a whole warehouse and everything in it and I still wake up in diamond PJs sometimes, so, like, don't think you can patronize me cause you're a cool wizard and I've got a bad attitude. It's just part of my appeal." Darren flicked the crystal towards the ground and it shifted back to brown and leafy as it fell. "And just cause you want to not need help doesn't mean it's, like, true. It takes a village to build Rome in a day."

"Magic's magic, right? Like...light and radio waves are the same thing. All electromagnetic irradiation or whatever. So magic should be the same way, just, like, maybe the two of you can only see different parts of the spectrum. Which probably explains why he's always jury rigging some dumb magic gizmo and you're doing whatever." Darren rolled his hands through the air as he spoke, then mimed Marcus's earlier pose of concentration. His fingertips glowed with tiny halos of white light and a few glittering flecks of crystal danced in the air around his hands. "But, I get it. I'm a mutant, so I'm kinda similar to other mutants, at least in how my powers work since otherwise I'm pretty much clearly better, but I'm not a T-baby, so they're still kind of different from that." "You still haven't told me what you're trying to do, though. Besides breaking boundaries which is, like, so completely vague, sounds like something you'd say to try to throw me off the trail, but I'm a master at this so you may as well just explain, please."

"Dude, we go to super school, like, upsetting the natural balance is what we do every day." Darren pulled at his lip with his teeth and looked up at the clear sky to keep from saying the next line that bubbled into his head. When he managed to quell it, he slipped his phone into his pocket and gave Marcus what seemed to pass for his full attention, though he still occasionally turned his head to look at other students walking to and from the buildings on campus. "It's nothing to me, I was just curious. I like knowing things, you could say it's, like, my character flaw. Not a tragic flaw cause I don't normally get into too much trouble for it, but yeah. I've had to deal with more of you magic guys lately so sometimes I just get all these question and you never seem too accommodating about it. So defensive." Darren shrugged, but smiled thinly. "But, like, if you're having trouble, maybe I can call in Crow or someone to help you out, I think I can totally convince him that he owes me a favor and he seems like he might be able to rejigger your spell or whatever to do the thing. What is it supposed to do anyway?"

Darren jumped back at the sharp pop of Marcus's spell failing. Magic was not his area of expertise, a fact he usually led with whenever he had to deal with magic-types like Marcus or Subito. Instead of admit that, though, he instead lifted up his phone and snapped a quick picture of Marcus and his spell-casting digits, which he then started to muck around with to edit. He hummed to himself in thought for a moment and shifted his weight to his left foot, then waved the end of his phone at Marcus. "Yeah, that's me, Darren Stelzer, Adamas, whatever. You're Marcus Irons, Arcturus, the werebear, that should, like, be it for introductions right?" Darren looked up from his screen and squinted. "Isn't that kind of a bad spell then? I mean, like, there's natural light indoors as long as there's a window somewhere, that's physics or something, so how much sun power does this spell need to work? Seems kinda limited in scope, really, how often are you going to be in a situation where you can, like, soak up a ton of rays for your solar beam? What if you put on some SPF earlier and it hasn't worn off yet?" He went back to his phone. "Have you tried making it less niche?"