College Visit

[Heridfel]

Kevin makes a face, then shrugs.

"Well, none of us can do anything about the weather, so I just hope you guys brought your umbrellas," he says. "Left my poncho back in my dorm. I'll just have to get wet."

The walk over to the humanities building is uneventful. Freedom College has had a little more room to grow than FCU, and its campus reflects that. There's more greenspace, including a couple of fields near the academic buildings where some students are throwing around a frisbee. Farther away, it looks like a guy with a big shaggy beard and Coke-bottle glasses is juggling bowling pins. No one really pays him much attention, so it might be a common sight on campus.

[Heritage]

A small gathering of students is watching the frisbee game with vague interest, all young men with backpacks seated in a loose semi-circle on the grass adjacent to Cole Hall, the science building about a hundred feet away from Baker Hall where the student group is currently headed.

[Thevshi]

Megan follows along with the tour, starting to get really bored now. As they stepped outside, she took a small umbrella out and looked around at the sights. So far, there was less and less to interest her in Freedom College.

As they drew close to their destination, she noted some of the things going on around them. One of the nice things about her powers, was she was able to take note of many things in far less time than it would take a normal person to observe them. Not to mention she could process the information faster.

Looking over at the group near the students playing frisbee, she noted several things in a fraction of a second.

Group of young men all wearing baseball caps, or sunglasses or both….Nothing too unusual, save for the rain and sunglasses.

Same group of young men all seeming to be unobtrusively looking around at what was going on….Again, not particularly unusual. There were tour groups with girls walking around, so checking out the girls could be an explanation.

Same group of young men all wearing identical, cheap, tacky and apparently brand new backpacks….Very likely they all could have bought the backpacks at the school store (and if that was the case the store needed some fashion consulting). But all of them buying the same backpacks at roughly the same time?

Despite what people say about speedsters generally, Megan was not particularly impulsive (when it takes one a second to reflect on issues, weigh options and come to a decision that might take a normal person a few minutes reach, it can look a lot like impulsiveness), but she had been an active superhero for almost three years now. In this town, she had learned that very often, the combination of several seemingly innocuous things could mean trouble.

After deciding that these guys with the backpacks might be up to something (a decision that took less than a second), Megan started to slow down slightly, hoping to fall back from the group and get somewhere where she could watch them unobtrusively herself.

[Heridfel]

Kevin doesn't even pay the group any mind. Between flash mobs, campus social groups, and military protests, he's used to folks gathering at FC for no real reason. Sure, it'd be a little more normal if they were playing frisbee themselves, or sitting around a white guy with dreadlocks playing guitar, but let them have their thing.

[Seren]

Oliver nearly missed the connection that wearing sunglasses in the rain might be a bit odd, but as he looked at something else his mind brought that to his attention.

His head snapped back, maybe a little too quickly, as though he was trying to figure out if he had seen something impossible. After a second or two, he continued looking around, while keeping them just in his field of vision.

[Heritage]

One of the older looking boys nods, and three of the young men rise, shoulder up their backpacks (which appear to be rather heavy), and start heading in the general direction of Baker Hall. About a minute later, the same boy nods and three more boys get up and start making their way across the grass towards the dorms. A full minute after that, the lead boy nods, and he and the last two students head around to the back of Cole.

Now that all the boys are up and moving, it's a bit easier to pick out details; for one thing, all their movements are sharp and angular, like hummingbirds darting from flower to flower. The exception is the lead boy, much larger than the rest, who walks with a peculiar rolling gait; even though he's built like a linebacker, there's a litheness to him you wouldn't expect from someone his size.

No one pays them much attention as they cross the campus...

[Heridfel]

Kevin does glance over to them as they get up, but the thing he notices isn't how strange they look. Instead, he mumbles to himself, "Why hasn't that guy tried out for the team? He looks as big as me."

Looking back to the group, he gives them a smile, "At least it's not raining yet. Maybe we'll be lucky and it's just a sprinkle."

One of the kids says, "You sure talk about rain a lot."

Kevin shrugs, "I'm from Texas. We don't get much rain there - here, it's like it rains all the time. I'm sort of sick of it."

[Thevshi]

Just great. Megan thought as she watched the boys with the backpacks start heading towards different parts of campus in small groups. While there could still be an innocent explanation for their behavior, it was really looking less and less likely.

The big question now was which group to follow first. Considering for a brief moment, she started after the group that was heading towards one of the dorm buildings. If they were up to no good, she could quickly be changed and try to deal with them. Then she could head towards the other two buildings to stop those groups as well.

[Seren]

Okay, even I can tell something's up here. Question is what, and how much trouble will it cause. Oliver looked away, trying to find a good spot to leave the group quietly and change, slipping towards the back. Adjusting his own backpack, Oliver decided, In any case, I think I'm going to need to get the costume out early.

Going over excuses in case he was spotted going away from the group, Oliver decided on the old classic, 'Off to use the bathroom' unless another more obvious one presented itself.

[Heridfel]

Even Kevin isn't slow enough to miss two people leaving at almost exactly the same time. There's not many ways to get into trouble while giving a campus tour, but losing kids is one of them. He stops walking for a second and looks toward them.

"Hey, you guys! Where are you headed?" he asks them.

[Thevshi]

Megan hardly slowed as she continued. “I think I’ve seen enough to know I’m not interested in FC. So I’m heading home.†She called out over her shoulder.

[Seren]

Having just stepped away from the group when he thought Kevin wasn't looking, Oliver cringed, mentally kicking himself for being spotted already. In a flash of an idea, he puts his hand against his stomach.

Just before speaking, he realizes that Kevin said 'you guys' and pauses long enough for the girl he spotted earlier to comment.

Taking a deep breath and looking up at Kevin, Oliver explains. "Something's just not..." and takes a pause as he shifts his weight visibly, pretending to hold himself back. "...agreeing with me." He gives a simle, trying to look uncomfortable as he does so, still holding his stomach.

[Heritage]

The trios of boys all continue on their separate ways; the group Megan is keeping her eyes on are nearly by the dorms, and one of the students pulls out a cellphone and makes a call.

[Heridfel]

Kevin's split here - he's got one girl going AWOL, and one guy who's apparently sick. He decides to take care of the easier one first.

"Ok man. You heard where we're heading; catch up to us once you're done," he shouts to Oliver. As for the girl, though, he only has a couple of options, and none of them are very good. He looks to the other people in the group.

"Do any of you guys know what her name is?" he asks them. The other students just shake their heads and shrug, with a couple of them even being verbal enough to say "No." Kevin sighs and pulls out his cell phone. As he dials a number, he says to the group, "Let's keep moving. I've got to call this in."

[Thevshi]

Given the excuse that she had given, Megan headed towards the parking lot she had parked in earlier in the morning. If that was near one of the groups, she would try to keep an eye on them. If not, she was going to find a place to just change and get to scouting the groups out in costume.

[Seren]

Oliver gives a little wave of understanding as he turns and hurries off to the nearest bathroom. Keeping in mind the general area he expects the groups to be headed to, he plans his route after changing.

He heads into a stall, hanging his bag on the door and starts to get changed (taking note of the sound of the door and sinks).

[Heridfel]

"Yeah, I had a blonde run off. She said she wasn't coming here, and she just left," Kevin says into the phone. "No, I didn't get her name. She didn't want to tell me as she left, and nobody here knew it. Yeah. Yeah. Alright, thanks." He closes the phone and tries to wipe the half-grimace, half-frown off his face.

"Well, that could've gone worse," he says. "Where was I? Oh, right. Baker Hall is built on a slant. The rumor about it is that if the school failed, they could turn it into a gravity-assisted assembly line. That's not true; the architect just wanted to build with the land, rather than excavating tons of earth to get flatter floors..."

He continues the tour lecture as best he can (until something out of the ordinary happens).

[Heritage]

Both Oliver and Megan find places to change, he in a stall in the men's room, she in an unlocked janitor's closet, but unfortunately this means the somewhat sinister groups of boys are no longer visible by the time they are both in costume :(

[Seren]

Not seeing where the guys had gone, Oliver thinks quickly. His blaster hooked over his shoulder, he attempts to get on top of the bathroom without attempting to draw attention to himself (using the jetpack if necessary).

Once on higher ground, he takes a look around where he had last seen the groups, then in the direction they had been headed.

I just hope I'll be able to do something if they are planning trouble.

[Thevshi]

Once Megan had headed off and found a place to change, it was only seconds later that she emerged in costume as Velocity, speeding out of the building she was in and back out onto campus. She had lost sight of the group she had been following, but that was not likely a problem, as she speed off in the direction they had been heading, quickly looking to spot them as she moved in that general direction at high speed, fanning out the search some to make it more of a cone shape from where she had last seen them.

Of course now she was having to be blatantly obvious, thanks to the stupid tour guide calling out to her and her having to make an excuse that did not allow her to continue to follow them. But, if the group was up to no good and her appearance made them start something sooner, that might actually turn out to be a good thing.

[Heritage]

In the blink of an eye, Velocity locates her group, the ones who were headed for the dorms; they are whispering among themselves in a side hallway just off one of the main corridors of the dorm the tour had just left. If at all possible, they seem even more agitated than before as they start opening up their backpacks and fumbling around in their contents. One of the boys is still on his cellphone, nodding repeatedly.

Blue Blaster is able to spot his group in a similar out-of-the-way corridor in Cole Hall, the science building, also digging around in their backpacks; he can now get a better look at the large boy, who is talking on his cellphone; his brow is heavy and somewhat receded, and his hands and jaw are massive, which makes his cellphone look ridiculously small by comparison.

As Kevin leads the rest of his tour group into Baker, he spots one of the trios of young men he saw earlier on the lawn clustered in a short hallway just inside the entrance; as in the cases above, they appear to be nervously digging in their backpacks while one of their number talks on a cellphone. The boy on the phone locks eyes with Kevin and smiles; he's pale and somewhat scrawny, but as he peers over the top of his shades, one can see an unsettling determination in his bloodshot eyes.

[Heridfel]

Something about that smile rubs Kevin the wrong way. It doesn't seem friendly, for sure, and there's no reason for him to be so stressed out now. He glances back to his group to see if any of them have noticed the strange behavior, then back to the trio.

[Thevshi]

Quickly finding the group, Velocity observed them a few moments and decided it was time to take the direct approach with things. As a bright yellow blur, she ran over to stop in front of the group, giving them a wide smile and a wave. “Hi boys, what’s up?â€Â

She positions herself so none are behind her, and was ready, a the blink of an eye to dodge any attacks should they indeed be up to something bad.

[Heritage]

“Hi boys, what’s up?â€Â

For a second, all three boys just stare at her in disbelief, but then the two with their hands in their bags pull out automatics and each take a shot at Velocity!

- - -

The group by Blaster still have not noticed him yet, so busy are they in their dark preparations; the large boy seems to upset with whomever is on the other end of the phone, and shouts "I don't care what you think!"

- - -

The boy giving Kevin the heebie-jeebies reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a 9mm pistol and grins even wider; when his two companions notice he's drawn his weapon, they look startled and draw their's as well, but they are holding their weapons much more awkwardly than the first. The sight of three students with drawn pistols does not surprisingly cause Kevin's entire group to instantly freak out and make a mad rush back towards the entrance, screaming "They've got guns!" in blind panic. :o

[Seren]

Spotting one of the groups that had been acting suspiciously, Blue Blaster flies over to the trio, keeping just outside arm's length. Evening himself out so he hovers, a slight nervous fear passes through him before he puts on a solid face. His fingers hovered over his palms, keeping him in flight and ready to move in case they (or anyone else) responded dangerously.

Blue Blaster looks down at the trio, then speaks into his voicechanger. "Good morning, boys. Something I can help you with?"