And Hell came knocking

[Avenger Assembled]

"They're not really that destructive," said Mark with a little laugh. "I mean, I'm not like Megastar or anything. I just...make accidents happen. Really big accidents. I definitely can't use them in the gym. I can keep from hurting people, but not from hurting the scenery." He led the way down to the gym, narrating a little bit as he went about the school's history. When Erin asked James about his powers, he fell silent, letting the other boy take center stage when it was his turn.

[Cyroa]

James nodded as Erin described the 'conditions'. "Yeah, the Prophet family's like that too. Only supposed to use powers in 'special' areas. But there's always something getting busted up, people being what they are. Just part of the deal. Supposed to only use powers in the Testing Room, but doesn't always work that way. No worries though, mine might not be that strong just yet but I've got pretty good control on 'em."

He listened as Mark described the history while they walked, nodding occasionally, politely. He wasn't quite ready to tell people he just met the entire truth. 'Yeah, I've got some kick ass demon powers 'cause of my dad. They're just going to get stronger as I get older and closer to fulfilling my so-called destiny of, according to dad, destroying the world. You?' Probably a little to much to start with. Someday, maybe. For now, he settled on something simpler and more generic. "Me? Oh, a smattering of things. Mostly some...fire aspects. Heat, fire, and manipulation. Also lets me infuse myself, getting stronger. I can occasionally influence emotional states in people, though I almost never bother. Too easy; takes the fun out of talking with people. And I'm a little tougher than most people but not excessively so. That's the majority of it." Not everything, but close enough. Some secrets were necessary after all.

He looked at Mark. "So, some kind of negative aspected probability control? Cool." He looked over at Erin with a raised eyebrow, invited her to contribute.

[Electra]

Erin shrugged with a rueful sort of smile. "Mine's not very exciting, just sort of dangerous. Strong, fast, hard to hurt. Most of the fight training I do is in not destroying the things I hit. But there's people around here with all kinds of weird powers. So is your family really rich or something? So that you have your own power testing room at home?" She pushed the door open to the gym. "I guess that would make all this stuff less impressive."

[Avenger Assembled]

The inside of the gym was lushly laid out, equipped with the top-of-the-line facilities of a private school with a very large endowment. There were strength-training areas, various treadmills and bike machines, and the usual array of sports equipment around any new high school gymnasium. For his part, Mark headed for the basketball court, smoothly scooping up a discarded ball. "So, you guys wanna spot me?" He tossed the ball behind him, the ball neatly whiffing through the net behind him.

[Cyroa]

James nodded at Erin as they walking into the gym. His face didn't change but he raised the mental equivalent of an eyebrow at her words. She didn't recognize the family name. She spoke English like a native but didn't know about his family. That automatically placed her background as 'something unusual' as far as he was concerned. Given the family he hung out with and what the school likely held, that probably wasn't too unusual a description. Perhaps he'd have to find out what it was later on.

Instead he just continued on as if nothing was amiss. He didn't want to flaunt the fact that he had money, but he saw no point in lying either. "Yeah, the family has got plenty of pretty much everything. But I don't take too much from them when I can avoid it. I've got my own inheritance." He smiled wryly. "It's still impressive. I'm just a little more used to it than most people would be."

He eyed Mark as the ball made the impossible shot, nothing but net. "I guess that would be both the negative and positive aspects of probability huh?" He chuckled. "I'm up for whatever. So if we're playing to 21...the spot would be 17-18 points?" He chuckled, looking around, noting the various pieces of equipment and area. "So, how long you guys been here anyway?"

[Electra]

"Don't play basketball against him," Erin advised James. "It doesn't matter what the spread is, or how good you are. It's like betting against the house in Las Vegas, but worse. But if you're on his team, it's pretty cool." She held up her hand so Mark could throw her the ball, then made a basket of her own. "I've only been here since the beginning of June. Alex and Mike and I all came for the summer session. Not much happens on campus in the summer, but there's training and field trips and a few sports leagues. Food's pretty good, if you're into that." She jogged under the basket and tossed the ball back to Mark. "I'll rebound for you for a few minutes, if you want, but I don't know why you even bother."

[Avenger Assembled]

"I don't actually have a lot of skill," said Mark with a rueful laugh. "And Mr. Perry's always reminding me that my powers aren't going to be there forever. I can't say they've ever really let me down, though," he added as he caught the ball. He fired off another shot, this one bouncing several times before just hanging off the rim and falling into Erin's hands. "There, see?" he said with a grin. "When I actually aim for the darn thing, I can't hit it." He caught the ball she tossed back to him, though, then turned to James. "It's not like my powers are on all the time. And they're not just for me. I can even make you a better shot."

[Cyroa]

James chuckled. "I guess cards are right out too, huh? Sounds kind of slow but I'm sure we can work something out." He nodded slowly at Mark's words. It might seem like he was contemplating the bonuses of a friendly luck controller but what was really going through his mind was the possibility of no longer being tied to his father. He gave himself a mental shake and re-focused. That was just a pipe dream; his father wasn't going to just let him go. He'd just blow the 'old man' off the old fashioned way.

"That'd be useful. Remind me to bring you along when we do get to a card game," he added with a laugh. He moved over to machine and sat down, just doing some light weights to stretch. "So, what the deal here? They keep tabs on us or can we head out for pizza and fun whenever? Or do we gotta check in and keep quiet about the school?" It was obviously he hadn't read anything resembling a 'student handbook'. Nor did he care what it said really.

[Electra]

"Well, there's a curfew," Erin told him, absently rebounding and tossing back the basketball with one hand while she talked to James. "You're supposed to let your RA know when you're going out. And you're supposed to stay out of trouble when you go out, of course. Everybody knows about Claremont, but if you start showing off with your powers and bust something up or someone gets hurt, you're in big trouble."

She shrugged. "I don't go off campus that much," she admitted. "I've got ten tutoring sessions a week, so it's mostly studying and training. But Mark's been here three years." She looked over to Mark, dribbling the ball idly instead of tossing it back for once. "Any rules I'm forgetting?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"That's the important stuff," said Mark. "Uh, don't sneak into the girls' floors after lights out, and no using powers on someone else without their permission. They tend to frown on that." He grinned. "They're pretty easy-going here. They want us to grow up the right way, and if you teach kids that rules suck, they're not gonna want to be superheroes. They'll be, I dunno, super-tax assessors or something." He wandered over to the weight machine himself and picked up a few free weights, showing that apparently super-strength was not included in his power set. "I spent a lot of time around superheroes when I was growing up, so I think about them a lot. My dad was in the old Freedom League," he added with a note of pride in his voice. "The real one, back when the Centurion was around."

[Cyroa]

He raised an eyebrow at her first response. "Curfew?S" Yeah, that wasn't likely to happen depending on the time. He didn't sleep that much and the fun stuff generally didn't start till after dark anyway. He nodded though, listening. The rest didn't sound too bad.

He looked at Erin when she mentioned all the extra work she was putting in. She definitely sounded like a good student for all that effort. "Workin hard huh? Sure sounds like a lotta studyin. Don't think I could do it and I know I wouldn't want to. I gotta get out pretty regularly or I'll go nuts from boredom. Good parties and whatnot. Live music. Bands. Gigs to play in. Just too much to do, fun to be had."

He chuckled at the girl's bathroom bit. Tempting but still pretty much a given there. He already had the mindset that most rules sucked anyway, but hey, he was a teenager. That should be a pretty standard view right?

He nodded at Mark. "Really? Cool. Got some in my family too," he added since Erin didn't seem aware. "Seems me an you have somethin in common." For all that Mark seemed pretty straight-laced and James was most decidedly not, they did share at least on thing in common. Legacies.

[Electra]

"Campus curfew," Erin shrugged, putting down the ball and walking over to join the guys at the weights. None of the weights were in her class, so she picked up one of the heavy ones and started playing with it, tossing it from hand to hand like a ball. "You can go around on campus, but you can't leave. There's some stuff to do if you don't sleep, you can come here, or go to the library. There's some video games in the big dorm commons, but I don't really know how to play any of them."

She shrugged. "It's better than studying all night. You probably won't have to study too much, if you're an okay student, especially in the summer. Most of the people here are just taking maybe one or two classes, or powers training. I missed some school, so I'm catching up this summer. You'll have to talk to your RA about music or dancing, I guess. There's not much around here." She sent a wry smile in Mark's direction. "We went to a concert not too long ago, but the entertainment wasn't really the music, it was the crowd. But I guess that's what happens when you get a city full of superpeople."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Well yeah, I guess if you're a Prophet you know about growing up around heroes." Mark laughed. "All kinds of people used to come over for my dad's barbecues." He worked the weight back and forth, not wanting to seem like he was bragging about his family. "We have a pretty good time around here." He shot James a look. "So, you think you're gonna go into the business? Be a superhero?"

[Cyroa]

He nodded his head a little. Campus curfew. Oh joy. Hopefully it wasn't too early or he was likely to be expelled for constantly breaking in. "Yeah, I don't sleep too much. Once every few days is plenty for me." He suppressed a shudder easily and without pause. Sleeping. Yeah, that sucked hard.

He chuckled. "Video games? Heh, works for me. I even brought a bunch of the station ones I can plug into a tv since I didn't know what was here. If you wanna learn or play, feel free to ask or just use 'em. I've been playing for years."

He didn't say anything about her missed schooling. Not likely to be a pleasant story or memory most likely. If she had wanted him to know this early since meeting him, she'd have elaborated. He'd find out later he was sure. "I've skipped a few days here and there. Just blew them off though for something else." He raised an eyebrow briefly, curious. "A concert huh? People watching? Suppose that's sorta fun. But ya gotta get out there and get into the party. Music, dancing. A good party, gotta love it. But I know it's not for everyone. I'll have to bring you guys along next time if your interested."

He looked over at Mark and gave short nod. He hadn't exactly had time during his Family's cookouts. Not nearly as much. Sure, there were always cool things to see. But he hadn't ever really fit with the rest of the family. Being the outsider on the inside of the Family had sucked. He shrugged after a moment. "Actually, no idea. Wasn't thinking of it as a main choice I guess. Lot's of demands and everyone's got something they want from me I guess. Personally, I just want to relax and have fun for now." For however long I have left, was his thought. "How about you two?"

[Electra]

"I'm going to be a hero," Erin said simply, flipping the fifty-pound weight end over end and then catching it in her hand a few times, meditatively. "There's a lot of people out there who could really use some help, and this is the place to come to learn to help them. Plus the endowment pays for my schooling, room and board, all that stuff. If nothing else, I'd owe them something for taking me in, but that's not why I want to do it. You need a purpose in life, you know, or what are you doing except wasting time?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Definitely," said Edge readily. "I'm definitely going to be a superhero when I grow up. After all, it's the family business." He smiled, unconsciously imitating Erin with a five-pound weight rather than a fifty-pounder. "I mean, I've got all these powers; I've got to use them for helping people. I don't know what else I'd do except be a gambler or something." He set the weight down. "I wouldn't go to a casino if I was old enough, anyway. It wouldn't be fair."

[Cyroa]

Well, he might be the odd one odd in this crowd it seemed. Yeah, he had a purpose unfortunately. Just not a good one... Great. "I've got no problem with the idea of being a Hero. The world needs them. It's a good goal to have." He shrugged. "Its not for everyone though. Some just can't handle the life. Some just don't have the personality and strength for it. And some just don't get the same choices." He shrugged. "Gotta have something to do though I suppose." Another half shrug and he let the matter drop for now.

He chuckled at Mark. "It was just a joke Mark. No worries. I was kidding." He worked in silence for a few more minutes, finishing up. "So, what now? Want to go out and get some food or try those video games? Not sure how busy you guys are. If nothing else, I can head out and explore the place."

[Electra]

Erin shook her head. "I gotta do my actual training. I need to be concentrating for that, though, or I'll likely knock the stupid punching ball through the wall again and get yelled at. I'll be here for a few hours yet, but maybe I'll catch up with you guys later. And maybe we'll play video games some night," she added with a small smile. "Nice to meet you, James."

[Avenger Assembled]

"You know," said Mark thoughtfully, "if you're looking for someone to hang around with tonight, I think I can recommend a couple of interesting people to you." Mark grinned at James, slapping him on the back. "You want to meet someone even cooler than Erin and me? My buddy Samot; he's not even from Earth. He's from Farside City, up on the Moon. I passed him coming back from his outing this morning, I'm sure he'd like to hang out with you." Chatting cheerfully about the aliens at school, Mark and James walked out together. Once they were out of the gym, Mark had a rarity: an idea.

"Hey James, uh, can I ask you something kind of personal?"

[Cyroa]

He flashed Erin a charming smile. "I look forward to it. Nice meeting you too."

He followed Mark back out of the gym. "An alien? Sure. Never met someone from a different planet. Or the moon for that matter. Well, you can ask. I might not answer, but you can always ask."

[Avenger Assembled]

"I don't like to pry or anything, man," said Mark, holding up his hands politely, "but there, uh, was kind of a thing about making sure it was Father Guimont who met you at the door today. Are you guys really hardcore Catholic or something? Because I'm totally on board with that if that's your thing, but it's good to know now before I start throwing fish at you on Friday or something."

[Cyroa]

Son of a @#$%. I thought it was odd for a priest to show up! Someone's thinking they can mess with me or showing they know my problems. Well, @#$% 'em!

James scowls for a brief moment before shaking his head slight, his customary wry grin back on his face. "Nah, not even close. Someone's just bein an ass. Either someone here or from my Family. Let's just say I've got this problem with religion and stuff and let it go at that." He chuckled. "It was starting so well too. Ah well, no worries. Let's go meet this friend of yours."