Academy City 2

[Helel]

It's a bit hard to tell what that pulse was. Maybe if she had time to think about it, or something... but now she's got Hikari looking into her eyes, adoration obvious in their depths. "It's okay! You seem a bit distracted... I hope it's nothing I said..." she says, glancing to the side bashfully.

Reya resolves to think about the pulse later- but shakes her head at Hikari dismissively.

"No, no. It was nothing you said, Hikari. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

She grabs the phone and puts it to her ear with a sigh.

"Now, what was it you wanted to tell me, Maris...?"

'-and I told Mister Mackey that I really like kitties- especially big ones like tigers, and he said-'

Reya sighs inwardly and nods her head, occasionally saying "Uh-huh" as she packs up her things.

[Azathoth]

A trio of unmarked vans drive into the city. Their only distinguishing feature being that sensors and penetrating radar seem to bounce off of them completely, revealing only static. Their one-way windshields reflect the gleaming spires of the city as they split off into different directions. One heads for the CTC's Color Isolation and Containment Facility, one drives around... looking for other prominent buildings to investigate, and the third winds through the darkest streets available... looking for a out of the way area.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

(( Time for an updaaaaate! Sorry for the delays, everyone ))

"I'm definitely up to the job, Ma'am", said Summer with a smile, "And I won't let you down". The teenager seemed quite pleased with the outcome, her short grey skirt bouncing as she rose to her feet, her back straight, and saluted the Principal. "Is that all, Ma'am? I wouldn't want to be late for first period. Her cheeks were a little red, which was unlike Summer, as she felt herself getting a little excited about telling Dr. Bellasarius about her new position when she got home.

Katherine leaned down a little to look over Yuki's books with a concerned expression, not realising she was giving a bunch of boys a view of her pink panties as she did so. "Huh... now that's a suprise...", she mumured. All these months she'd never even considered the school to be anything other than normal, but Yuki's workload caused all kinds of questions to form in her head. A little smile spread across her lips as she recalled the story her Mom had told her about Summer breaking into the labs looking for secrets, and she made a mental note to discuss this with her sister later on. "I'll wait for you outside the girl's bathroom down the hall at recess, okay?", she said. "Good luck with your class, Yuki".

The principal nods. "You may go now, Miss Bellisarius. I do hope that you will live up to my expectations."

A few of the boys snicker at the view, but a passing teacher gives them a look, and they quickly scurry off towards their class. Yuki look a little surprised as Katherine examines her books, however. Katherine, meanwhile, will find that the coursewook seems consistent with a high-level high school or low-level university curriculum. Calculus, philosophy, in-depth historical and literary studies. Everything was more advanced than one would expect someone of Yuki's age to be studying, perhaps by a few years. The girl pauses as Katherine offers to meet her later, and then nods hesitantly. "O-okay!" she says, giving the other girl a shy smile, before hurrying off to her own class.

Sam was eating away at her salisbury steak a bit, before hearing what Alyssa said, freezing in her tracks, a little wide-eyed, before going off in thought. "Well, um...wow, I wasn't really expecting this~."

Alyssa chuckles. "Well, you seem a bright young girl! You've really been helping out the show, so we were trying to think of some way to get you more involved. You seem to have some skills, so you could maybe learn a bit of juggling, although we probably couldn't do anything too tricky or complex. Have you done any dancing or anything maybe?" she asks curiously.

Reya resolves to think about the pulse later- but shakes her head at Hikari dismissively.

"No, no. It was nothing you said, Hikari. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

She grabs the phone and puts it to her ear with a sigh.

"Now, what was it you wanted to tell me, Maris...?"

'-and I told Mister Mackey that I really like kitties- especially big ones like tigers, and he said-'

Reya sighs inwardly and nods her head, occasionally saying "Uh-huh" as she packs up her things.

Hikari looks a little disappointed, but finally packs up her things. She pauses a moment, looking at Reya as if about to ask to join her, but finally decides to head home.

Finally, a little peace and quiet!

Ah but laws don't always make sense nor are they always followed. Besides, what is life without some variety and a bit of nonsense? Ahh, it would seem we are already here. No problem my dear. Now I must ask you something. Do try to dress a bit cooler if you have problems with getting overheated. You'll probably have more people willing to help and not gawk in the end.

The woman blushes slightly, but nods. "I suppose you have a point, sir." She pauses. "May I ask your name?" she asks curiously.

"Well...that sound noble."

Frowning slightly at the mention of 'destroying' someone, Victor gives a small nod.

"So...it's still...here then? To an extent?"

Caine nods. "The beige energy is still here. The facility is designed to contain it, and we're researching ways to try and process it into something... more harmless. At the very least, however, we don't have to worry about people just randomly wandering into the danger zone."

She pauses, frowning. "Hrm..."

Ashley nods. "So we're starting it now, right?"

[Did you mean first go to the park or...]

"Soon enough." The figure chuckles. "If you want to get started causing a little chaos, feel free. The main show should start in... about an hour, or so. Just remember, we want to lure the guards away from the park, so that our plan can go off without any interference. So cause a little chaos somewhere else in the city."

A trio of unmarked vans drive into the city. Their only distinguishing feature being that sensors and penetrating radar seem to bounce off of them completely, revealing only static. Their one-way windshields reflect the gleaming spires of the city as they split off into different directions. One heads for the CTC's Color Isolation and Containment Facility, one drives around... looking for other prominent buildings to investigate, and the third winds through the darkest streets available... looking for a out of the way area.

The vans drive into and through the city! If they're equipped with their own sensors, they'll notice a progression of scans being made... although none can apparently penetrate their defenses.

The first van will find it fairly easy to drive to the Color Isolation and Containment Facility, as it's located in the center of the city. It seems formidably protected, though...

The second van will find a few different locations. There's a science museum, for example, and city hall. Towards the outskirts seems to be a few security installations, with armored vehicles and aircraft waiting in the yard. There's also a fair number of research laboratories ringing the Color Isolation and Containment Facility, and quite a large number of schools and acadmies...

The third van will be able to find some parks on the outskirts. If they're looking for someplace dark and shadowy, however, well... there's some alleys and transport routes that seem to be more remote and hidden. Although as they pull down one, they find a few cloaked figures messing around with a cannister of some kind...

[KonokoHasano]

"Soon enough." The figure chuckles. "If you want to get started causing a little chaos, feel free. The main show should start in... about an hour, or so. Just remember, we want to lure the guards away from the park, so that our plan can go off without any interference. So cause a little chaos somewhere else in the city."

Ashley smirks a little and nods. He then shoots off from the shadows starts causing havoc.

Some of this includes using paper to damage buildings, re-coloring areas in bright colors, switching peoples genders or minds (Temporary), and freezing things... for starters.

[Azathoth]

The first Van drives around... looking for what would constitute as an entryway to the Facility. No need to be over the top... at the moment.

The second one stops at one of the research facilities... parking in the lot and opening up to reveal... nothing. It seems empty... The air shimmers slightly, as six stealthed Troopers make their way forward.

The third rolls to a stop down the alleyway. The doors roll open as several power armored figures step out. The one in the lead calls out in a clipped radio-ish tone. "Whats going on here?"

[Raleigh]

I believe Raleigh will work. If you prefer though you can call me Rei instead.

[Helel]

Hikari looks a little disappointed, but finally packs up her things. She pauses a moment, looking at Reya as if about to ask to join her, but finally decides to head home.

Finally, a little peace and quiet!

Reya sighs inwardly as Hikari walks out, but finishes putting her stuff away and heads out the door to leave the school. She remains on the phone, just to make sure Hikari doesn't ambush her outside the classroom at the last moment. Making it to the school gate, she notices Maris already waiting for her... talking away on the phone. She hangs up, while Maris recites multiplication tables.

"Okay Maris, you can stop now."

'Twelve times twelve is one-hundred and forty four, thirteen times thirteen is one hundred and sixty-nine...'

"Maris!"

'Oh!' Maris hangs up and looks up at Maris, smiling innocently. 'Did I do well, Sis?'

Reya can't help but smile and nods. "You bet. Come on, let's head back to the dorm and take care of our homework before dinner, okay?"

Maris nods, and the two then depart!

[Harri-chan]

Katherine seemed both concerned and embarrassed as she looked over Yuki's books, but smiled to the girl as she left for her class. Summer straightened her spine and saluted the Principal before she left the office, and moments later the two girls were together again. Katherine grabbed her adopted sister by the arm and leaned closer to talk quietly as they walked the school halls.

"I think something weird is going on. You know that little girl you stepped in to save? She's being taught stuff that's way over my head... and I'm really twenty five! And she was acting like it was completely normal. Can you slip into the admin office and grab some documents for me to check out? It would be easy for you, right?".

"No way, little sister", said Summer, shaking her head, insisting on calling Katherine that despite them being around the same age. "If you'd asked me yesterday then sure, but I've got responsibilities now. The Principal just made me playground monitor. If I got caught doing your dirty work, I'd get kicked out of school, and while I'd love to not have to come here anymore, Mom wouldn't like that. You'll have to get them yourself", she said with a shrug as they reached their first class and headed inside.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Katherine seemed both concerned and embarrassed as she looked over Yuki's books, but smiled to the girl as she left for her class. Summer straightened her spine and saluted the Principal before she left the office, and moments later the two girls were together again. Katherine grabbed her adopted sister by the arm and leaned closer to talk quietly as they walked the school halls.

"I think something weird is going on. You know that little girl you stepped in to save? She's being taught stuff that's way over my head... and I'm really twenty five! And she was acting like it was completely normal. Can you slip into the admin office and grab some documents for me to check out? It would be easy for you, right?".

"No way, little sister", said Summer, shaking her head, insisting on calling Katherine that despite them being around the same age. "If you'd asked me yesterday then sure, but I've got responsibilities now. The Principal just made me playground monitor. If I got caught doing your dirty work, I'd get kicked out of school, and while I'd love to not have to come here anymore, Mom wouldn't like that. You'll have to get them yourself", she said with a shrug as they reached their first class and headed inside.

(( In the interests of possibly catching up Summer and Katherine to the rest, I'll arrange a little time skip... ))

The school day progresses normally enough! Summer might actually get the chance to try out her new duties over lunch, while Katherine will likely have to try and think up a way to find out what's going on with Yuki's unusual curriculum.

As the school day nears its end, however, Katherine's homeroom teacher approaches her. "Katherine," she says, smiling gently. "I was hoping you'd have a few minutes to discuss something..."

Reya sighs inwardly as Hikari walks out, but finishes putting her stuff away and heads out the door to leave the school. She remains on the phone, just to make sure Hikari doesn't ambush her outside the classroom at the last moment. Making it to the school gate, she notices Maris already waiting for her... talking away on the phone. She hangs up, while Maris recites multiplication tables.

"Okay Maris, you can stop now."

'Twelve times twelve is one-hundred and forty four, thirteen times thirteen is one hundred and sixty-nine...'

"Maris!"

'Oh!' Maris hangs up and looks up at Maris, smiling innocently. 'Did I do well, Sis?'

Reya can't help but smile and nods. "You bet. Come on, let's head back to the dorm and take care of our homework before dinner, okay?"

Maris nods, and the two then depart!

As the two girls head back to their dorm, they can sense a strange atmosphere in the city this afternoon... a sense of tension. A security car screams past the front gate, its siren wailing as it drives by. Something's going on...

I believe Raleigh will work. If you prefer though you can call me Rei instead.

The scientist nods, and bows respectfully -- although that offers Raleigh a momentary glimpse down her shirt! Not that that's likely to perturb the ineffable entity, but still...

As she heads into the concealed facility, his attention may be drawn to a black van that drives by. It seems to be shielded against sensors of all kinds, and pulls into the parking lot of a research facility down the street...

"Soon enough." The figure chuckles. "If you want to get started causing a little chaos, feel free. The main show should start in... about an hour, or so. Just remember, we want to lure the guards away from the park, so that our plan can go off without any interference. So cause a little chaos somewhere else in the city."

Ashley smirks a little and nods. He then shoots off from the shadows starts causing havoc.

Some of this includes using paper to damage buildings, re-coloring areas in bright colors, switching peoples genders or minds (Temporary), and freezing things... for starters.

Almost as soon as Ashely starts causing trouble, the CTC responds! He's only had a chance to do a little damage and a couple of random transformations, before a trio of drones swoops down on his position. "Halt! You are causing a disruption of public activity and endangering the populace!" one of them says in a sythesized voice. "Surrender immediately. This will be your only warning!"

Any bystanders in the area are immediately fleeing, leaving a rather empty zone around Ashley...

The first Van drives around... looking for what would constitute as an entryway to the Facility. No need to be over the top... at the moment.

The second one stops at one of the research facilities... parking in the lot and opening up to reveal... nothing. It seems empty... The air shimmers slightly, as six stealthed Troopers make their way forward.

The third rolls to a stop down the alleyway. The doors roll open as several power armored figures step out. The one in the lead calls out in a clipped radio-ish tone. "Whats going on here?"

Since the opening post didn't have the complete description from the other thread... the first van will find the rather imposing outer wall of the Color Isolation and Containment Facility! It's a smooth black granite wall that looms around two stories tall, and surrounds a fairly large area -- in fact, if they were to compare it against the layout of the Sand Academy, they would find the outer wall coincides with the Academy's outer boundaries. It hums faintly with the powerful field generators embedded within it, apparently tuned to contain the color energies within. The wall is interrupted with large gates at the four cardinal directions, however. Each holds a massive metal gate, fortified with armored bunkers and defensive turrets.

It may not be of importance to the individuals in the van, but the black marble wall is also inscribed with hundreds of names -- a memorial to the victims of the Sand Academy tragedy.

(( Since Academy City actually has a fair number of independent research facilities, and the CTCs own research facilities are largely concealed, I'll assume they're arriving at an independent one... ))

The second van pulls up in the parking lot of a gleaming research lab. Security here seems somewhat light... perhaps they're a bit overconfident at the CTC presence? There are some guards stationed indoors in the lobby...

Meanwhile, the cloaked figures abruptly freeze as the power armored figures climb out of the van. There's a moment's pause, and then one of the figures shouts out.

"Cheese it, it's the cops! Get 'em!"

He immediately tosses a vial of something pinkish at the soldiers, while another dives for cover, drawing out some kind of raygun-like weapon. Others start to try and manhandle the cannister away. "Quick, get the other one! We gotta get these outta here!"

[Marky]

Alyssa chuckles. "Well, you seem a bright young girl! You've really been helping out the show, so we were trying to think of some way to get you more involved. You seem to have some skills, so you could maybe learn a bit of juggling, although we probably couldn't do anything too tricky or complex. Have you done any dancing or anything maybe?" she asks curiously.

Sam pauses for a moment, having been a bit excited at the juggling bit. "Well, um...I don't think I have."

[Azathoth]

Since the opening post didn't have the complete description from the other thread... the first van will find the rather imposing outer wall of the Color Isolation and Containment Facility! It's a smooth black granite wall that looms around two stories tall, and surrounds a fairly large area -- in fact, if they were to compare it against the layout of the Sand Academy, they would find the outer wall coincides with the Academy's outer boundaries. It hums faintly with the powerful field generators embedded within it, apparently tuned to contain the color energies within. The wall is interrupted with large gates at the four cardinal directions, however. Each holds a massive metal gate, fortified with armored bunkers and defensive turrets.

It may not be of importance to the individuals in the van, but the black marble wall is also inscribed with hundreds of names -- a memorial to the victims of the Sand Academy tragedy.

(( Since Academy City actually has a fair number of independent research facilities, and the CTCs own research facilities are largely concealed, I'll assume they're arriving at an independent one... ))

The second van pulls up in the parking lot of a gleaming research lab. Security here seems somewhat light... perhaps they're a bit overconfident at the CTC presence? There are some guards stationed indoors in the lobby...

Meanwhile, the cloaked figures abruptly freeze as the power armored figures climb out of the van. There's a moment's pause, and then one of the figures shouts out.

"Cheese it, it's the cops! Get 'em!"

He immediately tosses a vial of something pinkish at the soldiers, while another dives for cover, drawing out some kind of raygun-like weapon. Others start to try and manhandle the cannister away. "Quick, get the other one! We gotta get these outta here!"

The first van simply drives up to the nearest gate... waiting to be stopped or to reach it.

Squad Beta moves quickly... one moves to the cameras and places a feedback circuit on them... which generates a false image of the lobby... then the stealthed Squad strikes! Low frequency stun blasts into each of the guards...

Squad Gamma bunkers behind the open doors of their van, grayish shields snapping up around them. There is a clank... then almost invisible seams crack open along the van. The front driver and passenger doors, wide open, slide down and plant themselves into the ground with a crunch. The two doors fold outward and upwards until the troopers have a barricade to fire behind. And fire they do... starting first with the men handling the canister... sending out bolts of blue stunning energy.

Meanwhile, the top of the van cracks open, what looks like a laser gatling turret rising up out of the hidden depths of the van. The driver accesses a separate set of controls as it comes on line... spinning around and heating up.

[Raleigh]

Interesting. *Hops up on to a building to see what the van is up to.*

[Harri-chan]

Summer had just left to go get ready for her athletic club trials when the teacher approached Katherine. She'd found the day a little frustrating, unable to shake the concerns over Yuki's lessons from her head, which had then distracted her from her own lessons. She was just putting up a poster for science club near the lockers when she heard her name spoken by an older voice. Turning to see the teacher, she looked rather surprised. "Talk with me? Sure... is everything okay?", she asked. It was a little embarrassing to be eye level with another woman's chest when she'd spent so long as an adult herself, but as she always did around teachers, Katherine remained positively polite.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

(( In a mood to update, so striking while the iron is hot! ))

Summer had just left to go get ready for her athletic club trials when the teacher approached Katherine. She'd found the day a little frustrating, unable to shake the concerns over Yuki's lessons from her head, which had then distracted her from her own lessons. She was just putting up a poster for science club near the lockers when she heard her name spoken by an older voice. Turning to see the teacher, she looked rather surprised. "Talk with me? Sure... is everything okay?", she asked. It was a little embarrassing to be eye level with another woman's chest when she'd spent so long as an adult herself, but as she always did around teachers, Katherine remained positively polite.

The teacher doesn't seem to notice Katherine's discomfort at being at eye-level with her rather prominent chest! She nods. "Oh, things are going quite well! In fact, in light of your grades, we have been discussing giving you a special opportunity. You seem to be highly intelligent, perhaps more so than most girls your age. Would you be interested in taking part in a special curriculum? I'd hate for your talents to be wasted..."

Meanwhile, Summer is getting ready for her athletic club trials... but what's that sound coming from outside? Some kind of commotion? She can hear sirens in the distance...

Sam pauses for a moment, having been a bit excited at the juggling bit. "Well, um...I don't think I have."

Alyssa and Jon glance at each other, and then Alyssa grins. "Okay... I can tell from your body language that you were really excited at the thought of doing some juggling." She chuckles. "Don't try to hide it from me, silly girl. Well, we can help you train, although it'll take a LOT of practice, okay? We can always have you do the diabolo or something like that, as a warm up to the act. Sound good?"

Jon chuckles, and nods. "I wouldn't want to endanger you with trying to juggle something like chainsaws, but you've been around us enough to know the safety routines we use. You should be able to help out with some other juggling tricks..." he says encouragingly.

Interesting. *Hops up on to a building to see what the van is up to.*

Raleigh can see the van parked in the parking lot now, its doors open... but apparently unoccupied?

Meanwhile, there seems to be something going on inside the building? A bit hard to tell, but some kind of fighting, perhaps... although it's very subtle. Spies?

The first van simply drives up to the nearest gate... waiting to be stopped or to reach it.

Squad Beta moves quickly... one moves to the cameras and places a feedback circuit on them... which generates a false image of the lobby... then the stealthed Squad strikes! Low frequency stun blasts into each of the guards...

Squad Gamma bunkers behind the open doors of their van, grayish shields snapping up around them. There is a clank... then almost invisible seams crack open along the van. The front driver and passenger doors, wide open, slide down and plant themselves into the ground with a crunch. The two doors fold outward and upwards until the troopers have a barricade to fire behind. And fire they do... starting first with the men handling the canister... sending out bolts of blue stunning energy.

Meanwhile, the top of the van cracks open, what looks like a laser gatling turret rising up out of the hidden depths of the van. The driver accesses a separate set of controls as it comes on line... spinning around and heating up.

As the first van approaches the gate, they'll notice the gate's defenses coming on line, turrets swinging to target the vehicle. A voice comes out over a loudspeaker from one of the towers flanking the gate. "Stop your vehicle! Unauthorized access to this facility is prohibited!"

Squad Beta makes good progress! The guards seem completely unprepared for a fast-striking high-tech force using stealth technology. The guards in the lobby crumple as they're quickly subdued. One of the secretaries manning the front desk stands up in shock as she sees the guards collapse, but after a moment's hesitation another moves suspiciously...

Meanwhile, the cloaked figures do their best to fight back against Squad Gamma! The one with the raygun-like weapon seems surprised to find the green blasts of energy it fires has no effect upon the soldiers in powered armor, but the tossed vial shatters against the barricade, splattering pink goo across a couple of the troopers... where it starts to sparkle, and they can feel a chill pass through their bodies...

The figure that threw the vial quickly draws another as he skitters behind some crates, watching to see if his compounds have any effect. The ones trying to manhandle the canister start to go down under the soldiers' attacks, but one of them -- fairly big and strong, judging from his frame, glares at the troopers as he sees his buddies collapsing. "Screw you!" he roars, grabbing the canister by its valve and hurling it at the barricades! The canister slams directly into one of the barricades, bending from the force of the impact... and rupturing, a cloud of yellow gas starting to billow outwards, engulfing the troopers and starting to spread into the van!

[Harri-chan]

Summer paused outside the locker room as the sound of sirens came through the windows. She chewed her lip and looked down the hall. What would Katherine do? She'd continue into her after school club and make everyone happy. Summer KNEW that's what she should do too, but the temptation was too strong. Turning away from the locker room door, she ran down the hall, her school bag bouncing behind her, her flat-bottomed shoes slapping across the floor as she raced for the doors that led outside...

Katherine soon forgot her embarrassment, and her eyes widened a little as the teacher made her offer. "Oh, wow, Miss, I don't know what to say... I'm honoured! Of course I'd be interested... ", she said, with a bright smile, genuinely thrilled at her own good fortune. "I agree entirely, Miss, I want to push myself as far as I can... when can we start?", she asked. It was an opportunity to learn more about what had been bothering her all day, but this was exciting in far more ways, as she genuinely did want to make the most of her second go at school, and aspire to more than she had before that fateful day she'd walked into a CTC Clinic.