StV: The Uncertain Soldier

Paul Caswell sat in a pool chair behind his Alpha Hound and did his best not to gape openly. It was, he reminded himself, his first real mission as a Hound, and he still didn't know how everything worked. This, though... this was a lot to take in. 

He glanced at Tara, but she was apparently focused on the conversation. Either she didn't find this disturbing, or she was much better at hiding it than he was. 

We were sent here to find whatever Deviant was stealing people's bone marrow, he thought, frustrated. Then we find a whole group of Deviants in the damned hospital with the the victims, and Bloodhound -- the Alpha Hound who's acting as our Hunter -- not only fails to give the order to bring them in, but leads them back here to the hotel to talk. Clearly, Bloodhound knew these people. 

Try as he might, Paul couldn't figure it. Was Bloodhound a traitor? She couldn't be. Her own Hunter, Hearne, would have reported her. Was she expecting a bunch of deviants to help them? That didn't seem possible either. He knew her stats and her rep; Bloodhound might be younger than he was, but she'd brought in everyone she'd ever been assigned to capture. 

What the hell was going on here? Mind control? Something else? 

He'd wait, he decided. He'd wait, and watch, and then figure out what he needed to do.  

StV: Florida Man: After The Trial

Hey kid,

I was hoping to see you at the trial but I guess you were busy. It went... I was gonna say "badly," but it's you so... "badly" is better than I expected. Gonna have to spend some time in prison, and that means no drinking and only fighting if I have to. And no powers. I mean, I've still got them, I just can't use them if I want them to let me out. 

But it's a three year stint, and I think I can do it. You were right about the meds. Huge help. I'm very, very angry with you about that. So thanks. 

You were right about the offers, too. Some mercs, some even bigger assholes, but some... I mean, I wouldn't think that many people would want a guy with alligator powers to work for them, especially with my history, but I got an offer from the damned park rangers. Said it'd be nice to have someone on the payroll who could protect the Everglades from Anomalous threats. Pay's not as good as some of the other offers, but there's retirement. 

Hell, kid. Never even thought about that before. Anyway, sorry I didn't get to see you again.

~Florida Man

* * *

Tom Wilson, you fucking idiot, 

I was right there. Red wig, heavy makeup, nice skirt and suit jacket. Any of that ring a bell? You winked at me four times from the witness stand. Swear to Jesus, I thought you'd figured out it was me. And yes, the trial went badly for you, but it could have been so much worse. I was very, very impressed. 

Tell you what. Keep your head down, do the time and stay out of trouble as best you can, and when you get out we can schedule a big old knock-down, drag-out fight if that'll make you feel better. I know I did you kind of dirty bringing you in like that, but I still think you have what it takes to be a lot better person than you realize. 

Meanwhile, you take care of yourself -- in a good way, this time. 

~Cloudburst

 * * *

Kid, 

Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I'm glad you were there, but this. Awkward. I know I can be kind of a creep, but I don't hit on high school students. Thanks for showing up for me. Again.

Might take you up on that fight. Might not. Gives me something to think about besides being in prison, though. Araktul, you really are good at this. 

Keep writing. 

~Florida Man 

 

StV: Powers and Responsibilities

"Okay, here's what I don't understand," Cloudburst said softly, as they sat beside the fire. "You can give yourself new powers. You can adjust other people's powers, or give them new ones. So... why did you shove all your new powers into your Blood God form? Why not just give yourself those powers, um, outright?"

Harbinger leaned closer to the fire, closing his eyes to feel the heat on his face. "Given the choice, I wouldn't have them at all. I wouldn't need them. Do you know how many lives paid for those powers?"

Cloudburst shook her head. "I know you fought your way out of the DAAT compound. That's all anyone's said about it."

"I'm a murderer, Cloudburst. Or at least a killer, since it was self-defense. So primus, I don't like the idea of just... strengthening my usual self that way. Secundus, I don't want to get in the habit of using that kind of power. I need it -- my parents are millennia-old gods who might show up looking for Charm and me at any time -- and I need some way to..." He hesitated for a long moment. "...to discourage them if they do. Which is why I've gathered that much power at all."

"Self-defense," she said, and squeezed his hand.

He nodded. "Charm is a talented sorceress, and getting better all the time, but our Mom is also a sorceress and has a power like mine -- and several thousand years of using it to strengthen herself. If we want to be able to force our independence, then we're both playing catch-up -- and that's not even accounting for our father, who has... very definite ideas about how personal power relates to leadership and godhood. Having them both show up would be... catastrophic." 

She nodded slowly. "So you... what? Gave yourself enough power to be hard to kill, but not so much that you're a danger to other people, but still keep the option to go to your Final Form in an emergency?"

He nodded. "Something like that, yeah. Because if I were carrying that much power around all the time, I'd want to use it. I already do, but at least this way I'm not out there doing horrible things to horrible people constantly. I don't want to become Solar."

Cloudburst nodded, then stood and found another log to place on the fire. "Lead us not into temptation," she said quietly. Solar was a famous villain, at least as far as the media was concerned; she was arguably an Anomalous Rights Advocate, but she was also a radical and had publicly incinerated several prominent politicians in at least three countries, and organized other Anomalies to act as terror cells. No, Harbinger wouldn't want to become that. He understood just how double-edged those kinds of actions were. 

StV: Meanwhile in Downtown Dallas

None of this should have been complicated. The bank vault was walled in reinforced concrete with a heavy steel door, impassable except that Antaeus could slide through from below and punch the door off its hinges from the inside. That would set off the alarm, of course, but the Witch of the Mists could offer cover while Evil Gecko slid in and helped Antaeus bundle up the take. After that it was just a matter of walking out, while the mists foiled cameras and any guards on site.

It was the spotlight glare cutting through the mists that was the first sign of trouble. The masked figure that dropped down in front of Antaeus was next, but Antaeus punched her into the next block. 

"This way!" called Evil Gecko, as Antaeus hauled their spoils clear of the bank and The Witch of the Mists held her position, hiding them. 

Gecko lifted a manhole cover, and motioned Antaeus down. "That way," she pointed. "Three ladders, then come back up. Spider should have a van waiting."

The Witch of the Mists came up beside her. "Hold your breath and drop," she said quietly. "I'm going to make it very unpleasant up here."

Evil Gecko nodded and dropped down the manhole, rolling as she landed at the bottom. Likely the witch would be climbing down after them, and... yes, that scraping was the manhole cover being pulled back into place. Whatever band of heroes they'd run afoul of, there was a decent chance they'd gotten away. 

Villain: Witch of the Mists

Name: Nadja Jane Whitaker
Alias: Witch of the Mists
Age: 38
Appearance: 6' tall, with medium brown hair and milky skin, blue eyes and a slender, leggy build.
Job: Thief

Nadja Whitaker was set for a life in law enforcement. She had a major in Criminal Justice, a minor in sociology, and a background which included both target shooting and various martial arts. She was on the cusp of getting hired by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department when her background check dug up an incident involving Anomalous powers -- back in middle school. She found herself rejected from the job, and blackballed from the entire industry. 

Enraged, she turned to crime instead, using her knowledge of the system and her Anomalous powers to pull off robberies, foil police, and make her mark on the world. She takes particular pleasure in bringing down dirty cops -- or at least exposing them -- and has been known to help protesters escape from kettling and other police entrapment. 

Her powers include summoning fogs -- harmless, nauseating, or deadly -- and assuming a mist-form herself, though that means leaving behind clothing and equipment. Outside of her profound dislike of law enforcement, she is generally easy-going, and likes to spend her days exercising and her evening drinking beer and playing pool or card games. She has been working informally with Antaeus and Evil Gecko lately, and Evil Gecko's non-violent ethos has encouraged her to stretch her powers far enough to develop a sleep mist that renders its victims unconscious.  

Blackhand: A Perfectly Ordinary Lunch

Mike -- Blackhand -- sat down at the table and looked at the girl across from him. "Do you mind telling me what you can do?" he asked. 

Robin smiled. "Oh, that's easy: I move air around. I think Ms. Salvatore classified it as low-level weather control."

Well, that doesn't sound too dangerous... Mike smiled back. It was easy to smile at Robin. "How much can you do it? I mean, could you use it to fly, or...?"

Robin was already shaking her head. "Push a door shut, blow some papers off a table, maybe knock over somebody's glass if I really tried. Nothing fit for the teams, or for support work. I can make my hair billow dramatically, but that's about it."

"Huh," Mike said, thinking that over. 

"Are you disappointed?" she asked. 

He shook his head slowly, still lost in thought. "No. I'm thinking that might be better than what I got, in some ways. You can't hurt people with it, accidentally or on purpose. It's just enough to be interesting, not enough to put you at risk."

"Really?" she asked, brightening. 

"Really," he told her. "I got recruited for the Hounds when I was... eleven or twelve? They wanted me because I could spot other D-- Anomalies, and because I could use my power for violence. And the result of that was, well... when it really came down to violence, I barely survived Harbinger."

Robin shivered. "I've heard about him. Scary stuff."

"Scary?" asked Mike. 

Robin watched him, and after a moment he admitted: "Maybe." He sighed. "But I can't help thinking that we brought that on ourselves. If the Program hadn't kidnapped him and most of his team, if the Alpha Hound called Mongrel hadn't deliberately picked a fight, he wouldn't be a mass-murderer."

Robin studied him for a long moment. "You... you like him?"

Mike shrugged. "I don't know about that. I know he let me live, along with two others, and I know he's been trying to make up for killing our Hunters." He hesitated. "You know how that works, right?"

"One Hunter, One Hound," Robin recited. "Yeah, there were a couple of emailed announcements."

Mike nodded, looking around the cafeteria for a long moment. "Let's just say I don't hate him. I can't, at this point. He set me to work on my powers with Jade, and she... she offered me a place on Team Phoenix."

Robin studied him for a long moment. "Are you going to take it?"

He sniffed. "After she pounded the shit out of me, and forced me to do things with my powers that I didn't know I was capable of?" He hesitated again. "Maybe. I'm thinking about it."

Robin reached across the table, touched his hand gently. "If it helps any, I hope you do. I'd... kind of like to have you around." 

Student: Mutable

Name: Arthur Slater
Nickname: Mutable
Age: 13
Appearance: 5' tall with platinum-blond hair and square features, well-kept and neatly dressed. 
Quirks: Hates water pistols and sprayers, loves swimming, distrusts authority figures, huge Pokemon fan, terrified of hurting people.

Arthur Slater was taken from his parents at a young age and barely remembers them. He passed through a series of county homes and foster homes, and eventually wound up with the Folsoms -- a couple in their thirties who had very strict ideas about discipline and training. His powers first manifested themselves when his foster mother was spraying him in the eyes with a water pistol as punishment for not listening when she spoke (he'd been reading). He dissolved her arm, and then -- in horror -- sealed over the stump. He then fled the house, and wound up in the local nature preserve. 

Arthur is a powerful shapeshifter, capable of altering his own appearance at will, and that of others at range. He can make natural weapons -- claws, fangs, stingers -- but he can also rip people open, seal them closed, change them into giant slugs... the possibilities are mostly limited by his imagination, and by his desire not to hurt people. He needs to be able to see someone in order to use this gift, but other than that animal flesh of any sort is his to sculpt as he wishes.

He was found in the Preserve by the Alpha Hound Lynx, and her acting hunter, Hunter Dee -- Harbinger, from Saint Vincent's School for Exceptional Youth. They managed to convince the boy to return to the police with them and testify against his foster parents. Given a choice between remaining in the foster system, coming to Saint Vincent's, or joining the Hounds, Arthur chose to come to Saint Vincent's. 

StV: Blackhand vs. Jade, part five

"Keep your armor up," Blackhand warned, and Jade nodded behind her green-and-white helm. She raised sword and shield, and he stepped in, bracing his right wrist with his left hand and then shoving a lance of his power out and down to pin her foot to the ground. 

It was a new move; he'd never tried anything like it before, and he didn't know whether Jade could match his reach or not. If she could, she didn't manage it fast enough. Her armor held, but her foot was still pinned and she stumbled, stamping with her right foot to catch her balance. It was exactly what Blackhand had hoped for. 

He withdrew the lance and formed armor as he sprang, pushing her sword and shield aside so he could catch her torso, sweep her right leg, and drop her onto her back. She grunted as she landed -- surprise or pain, he couldn't tell -- and let both sword and shield withdraw as she converted her armor to be covered in spikes. 

It wasn't enough to get through his black skin, and with his power active he was stronger than she was. He slid around, less smoothly than he was used to, and managed to position himself for an arm lock. Her armor might absorb the impact of hitting the floor, but he was betting it wouldn't prevent him from dislocating her arm.  

Still, he was absolutely shocked when she reached up and tapped out, fingers impacting firmly on his thigh.

"There you go," she said, sounding pleased. "That would have taken me out, or at least reduced my effectiveness."

Blackhand let go of her arm, scooted back, and sat up. "Could I actually have dislocated your arm?"

"I think so. I haven't had to work on preventing that sort of thing, and you caught me off-guard, so yeah: if it had come down to it, that would've worked."

"Holy shit," he said. 

"Yeah," said Jade. "I didn't expect that at all. I should have known better than to underestimate anybody who could survive Harbinger." She hesitated. "If you're looking for work, I could use you on Team Phoenix."

"...You're serious."

"As a heart attack, as my gram used to say." Jade was sitting up as well. 

"You don't think our powers are too similar?"

Jade shook her head. "You can spot other Anomalies. I don't think anybody else on the team can except maybe Shunt, and he won't always think to look. And Team Phoenix is... I mean, we train for combat, obviously, but we're we're much more of an investigative, exploratory team. So yeah, I think we could use you. Plus, I like the way you think."

"That's... You know I'm part of DAAT, right?"

Jade nodded. "I know. And if that's a problem for you, you can always say No and I won't push it. Wouldn't want you on the team if you didn't want to be there."

Blackhand fought down a moment of panic. Mongrel would rip his heart out of his chest if he defected... but Mongrel was dead, along with his mother and a lot more of the upper leadership that had shaped DAAT into what it was. The old guard just didn't have the grip it once did on the Program.  "That's... I've got to think about that."

Jade nodded. "Just let me know." 

StV: Blackhand vs. Jade, part four

Fuck me, Blackhand thought, after their third pass. Jade was holding back, being careful, letting him experiment. She had her armor up, and his power couldn't get through it. If he kept himself fully armored, he had no reach and couldn't get past her sword and shield -- but at least she couldn't really hurt him either. If he shifted his power to form a blade, he could at least attack her effectively -- but if she connected with him, she'd cut him in half.

By the time their fourth pass started, he found himself drenched in sweat and switching back and forth as quickly as he could: blade-strike-parry-slide-shield-blade-armor-claws-grasp-miss-blade, until all his focus was on coordinating his power with the movements he needed. Jade's training wasn't flawless, but it was every bit as good as his. 

He fell back, panting, and Jade raised a hand. "Catch your breath," she said. 

"This is... I can't..." 

Jade shrugged. "We're not all evenly matched, but that isn't the point of this. You're already doing things I bet you never tried before."

Blackhand sagged, let himself relax and breathe. She was right, he realized. It didn't make him feel particularly better, but she was right. He'd trained to fight with claws, or with his power concentrated to form a blade. Switching back and forth between them was new; switching between either of those and his full armor was newer still. "Yeah. Okay. Good point." He took a minute or so to get his breathing under control. Jade, to his irritation, didn't even look winded -- though he suspected that she was at least sweating under her armor. "If I could make contact, I could weaken you and strengthen myself, but..." He shook his head. "That armor of yours is something else."

"Do you want to stop here, or keep going?" Jade's voice was gentle; she wouldn't judge him either way. 

"One more," he said after a moment. "Maybe two. I've got a couple of things I'd like to try if I can manage them."

"All right," Jade drawled. "As soon as you're ready. 

StV: Blackhand vs. Jade, part three

"I can spot Anomalies," Blackhand said quietly. "That's the big thing. That's why they recruited me. But the reason I'm an Alpha Hound..." he shook his hand out, then encased it in that strange black tissue that turned everything from his wrists to his fingers into oversized claws.

Jade studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "That, and you're trained to do violence with those."

He nodded. "I really only had to once. Domestic violence situation, and the wife turned her husband in as a... an Anomaly. He freaked out when we showed up at the door, tried to kill his wife. I had to cut him up pretty badly to get him to stop, and by then he'd broken a bunch of her ribs and both her arms. Fucking wonder her spine was intact."

"She lived, though?" Jade asked quietly. 

Blackhand sighed. "I don't know. They don't tell me anything. Official word was yes, job well done, dangerous deviant now in captivity, but..."

Jade nodded. "You don't know."

"I don't know," he repeated. "Anyway, when Harbinger tried to kill me I probably protected myself like this." He called the black growth out, covered himself in it, and stood there, faceless, for a long moment. Then he let it pull back in. 

"Lucky," said Jade. "I'm glad you made it. Okay, so now you know you can use it for armor, not just to make claws or blades."

Blackhand nodded. "But I'm pushing my limits, and if I cover myself with it I don't have enough left to make proper claws, let alone blades."

Jade considered that. "Well, we're all working with our own limitations," she said. "Here." She covered himself in a milky green armor, equipped with sword and shield, and stood facing him, shield first. "Can you form it into a sword?"

StV: Blackhand vs. Jade, part two

Blackhand looked around curiously. Despite the plaque above the door, this was very definitely not a pickleball court. He hadn't expected it to be, not after what Jade had told him outside the door, but...

"Wait a minute. Jade? Like, the one we captured -- or kidnapped?"

She turned back, smiled, and nodded. "The very same. I was still inside the medical wing, waiting to keep you from coming in and killing everyone, or else we'd have met earlier."

Did Harbinger just send me to the captain of Team Phoenix for training??? Apparently he had. "Um," he said, suddenly uncomfortable. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Was it your idea to kidnap us?" she asked. 

Blackhand shook his head. "None of us even knew you were there. It was just a breakout, all hands on deck to suppress it, go here and assist."

Jade studied him for a long moment. "And then your hunter died."

Blackhand squeezed his eyes closed, resisted the urge to step back. "Let's not talk about that."

"Harbinger told me," Jade said quietly. "He feels bad about it. I think that's part of why he's trying to help you. I'm... sorry for your loss." 

Blackhand hesitated, then reached past his pain. "Whatever we were about to do to you was probably worse," he said. "Let's just... let's just leave that part behind, if we can. If you don't mind."

Jade nodded. "Sure." She glanced up at an armored window. "Ms. Brigham, are you ready?"

There was a soft click, and a voice said, "Ready."

"Okay," said Jade. "Harbinger didn't give me a lot of detail. Can you show me what you do normally, and then whatever else you discovered?" 

StV: Blackhand vs. Jade, part one

"Hey there," said the tall, athletic girl with the short brown hair as she joined him beside the door. He'd had no idea that this basement under the gymnasium even existed until he'd been invited to come down for a practice. "You ready to do this?"

Blackhand eyed her warily. She was an Anomaly, of course; he felt the shiver of recognition that filled him every time he checked anyone at Saint Vincent's School for Exceptional Youth. Well, anyone except the music teacher, which had startled him so much that he'd checked four times before giving up. "Do what, exactly?" 

"They didn't explain?" asked the girl, stopping far enough back that she didn't loom over him, then shaking her head with a sigh. "Possibly I wasn't clear enough. All right, well... you recently got a better handle on your power, right?"

"How did you know that?" Blackhand blurted. "Sorry. I just... didn't expect..."

"Harbinger told me about it, when he was asking me to help you explore it further."

"Ah," said Blackhand. "Okay, that makes more sense." Seeing as Harbinger had been the one who'd helped him figure it out, at least... And Harbinger really did seem to want to prove that he was a friend, or at least not an enemy.

"...Annnd, he didn't mention this to you either. Okay, then." She shook her head again. "Anyway, I talked to Ms. Brigham, and she set up a training time and sent the invitations. She'll be overseeing us. So if you don't want to do this, it's okay. Nobody's forcing you."

"Saint Vincent's is offering to help me improve my power, and you think nobody's forcing me?" He chuckled. "Hearne would never forgive me if I passed this up. Hell, I'd never forgive myself."

"All right," Jade said, and smiled. The expression was relaxed and easy on her face, and she tapped a code into the pad beside the door. "Come on inside, and let's take a look. I'm Jade."

"Blackhand," he said automatically, and followed her through the door. 

StV: Meet-Cute

"Are ya new here?" asked a girl's voice, and Blackhand spun around so fast he nearly embarrassed himself. 

He'd come to the Self-Defense class after the more ordinary academic classes, under the theory that it wouldn't hurt to keep in practice, or to see how Saint-Vincent's School for Exceptional Youth was training their students to fight. 

The girl was maybe a year younger than he was -- hard to be sure -- with long blonde hair and pale blue eyes; her accent was pure Midwestern. Kansas, maybe? "Didn't mean to startle ya," she said easily. "It's just I don't think I've seen ya here before."

Blackhand rolled his shoulders, forcing them to relax. "Sorry," he said. "It's my first time at training." 

"Oh?" she asked. "I only started last month. Maybe we could practice together?"

He shrugged. "You any good?"

"I mean, kind of..." She blushed. "Took first place at the Tae Kwon Do championship in middle school. But the way they fight here is... different."

"No, that should work," Blackhand said. "I take it we don't use powers for this?"

She drew back. "Wow. You really are new here."

He made a vague yes-and-no gesture. "More of a temporary guest," he said. 

"Oh! You're one the Hounds, then."

Blackhand didn't deny it. "Call me Blackhand," he said. "Or... Shit. Call me Mike. Pardon my French."

She laughed softly. "Robin," she said. "I'm not strong enough to have a code name, or a call sign, or anything like that. It's nice to meet you, Mike." 

StV: Don't Pick That Fight

"You told us to let him go," Blackhand said. "Why'd you do that?"

Lynx sighed. "Because I didn't want to see you get killed."

Blackhand hesitated, shuddering. "Yeah, but he didn't manage to kill us."

"...Because he was busy killing like fifty other people all at once."

Blackhand's jaw worked. "Okay, fair point. Anyway, I'm not going to try to kill him."

"Oh?"

"Hearne's orders. I do follow orders."

Lynx sighed. "Somehow I'm still entirely reassured."

"Somehow, I'm still not going to explain."

"Okay, fine. You want me to let him know you want to talk to him? So nobody mistakes it for an ambush?"

"...You know what? Yes. Please. Do that." 

StV: Recriminations

"You told the fucking vampire about me." Shastia Middleston was dark-skinned, black-haired, and quietly, unmistakably furious. 

Timothy Davis shook his head and held up both his hands, palms forward. He was dark skinned and pale-eyed and bald, and his expression was simultaneously surprised and scared. "I only told him that he might want to talk to you, and that you weren't about to volunteer for one of the teams."

"That's still--" Shastia hesitated. "Okay, maybe that's not so bad." She sighed. "Fine, I won't kill you now."

"Well in that case, I won't take control of your mind."

She punched him in the shoulder. "I take it you didn't make the team?"

Tim shook his head in confirmation. "Well... not yet. Telepathy doesn't work on him, and without it I can't really fight -- but he did say that if I could get somebody to agree to help me show what I can do with telepathy, we could have another tryout."

Shastia tilted her head. "I'm not helping you with that."

"He said it would be better if it was someone on the teams, so I'm not even asking."

"Good."

"All right, so Laura's in. Abby evidently likes him, and he's willing to give you a second chance." She shook her head. "He didn't hesitate when I gave him my demands, either."

"Your demands?" asked Tim. 

Shastia nodded. "No recordings, and he doesn't say anything to anybody about what I a-- what I can do."

Tim nodded. "I'm not surprised he agreed to that."

"Why not?" asked Shastia, but she sounded curious rather than suspicious.

"He was keeping secrets, too. From the rest of us, from the faculty... right up until that whole thing with the Hounds, when everything blew up. I'd guess he knows what it's like." 

"Huh," she said, and then fell silent for a long while. 

StV: Another Attempt

Sophia Antonius stepped out onto the sidewalk, holding her bag and glancing back to make sure her boyfriend...

...was missing. Cedric was missing. She reached out for magic, found it, called it into herself. Then she extended her senses, reaching out... 

Cedric was just behind her, unconscious and invisible on the floor just inside the doorway. Two men she couldn't see were moving towards her, one coming out the door while another approached from the street. 

Her brother would have just murdered them, but Sophia was trying for a less lethal outcome. That didn't rule out making it painful, though.

"Cedric?" she called out, doing her best to sound confused about where her boyfriend might have gone. Under her breath, she was muttering rapid phrases and shaping energies... 

You'd better not have hurt him, she thought, as she wrapped them both in what would normally be shields and began to squeeze.  

Both men had apparently just come to a halt in the street, and were having difficulty breathing. Sophia held her grip where it was, waiting, and after a moment they were both visible to regular sight. So was Cedric, collapsed across the doorway... bleeding. 

Sophia clamped down with her shields, and heard the wet-wood snap of breaking bones. She hurried over to Cedric, and activated the general-healing spell that she'd stored in her necklace. Healing spells weren't her most-practiced area, but keeping one prepared in advance gave her time to think through the movements, phrases, and techniques she'd need... and kept her calm enough to use them.  

Faculty: Dr. Brawn

Name: Jefferson William Brown
Codename: Dr. Brawn
Age: 56
Appearance: 6'8" with broad shoulders and a solid musculature. blond hair and blue eyes; generally wears a suit and tie with Converse All-Stars.
Job: Art, Art History, Popular Culture, Sociology, Political Science, Economics.

Dr. Brawn looks like he should be a super-himbo, and his power-set seems to match that: he's nearly invulnerable, and incredibly strong. Owing to the influence of the other faculty, he does carry a greatsword made of some ridiculously hard-to-damage alloy -- and he knows how to use it. His true love, however, is learning -- and he's used that to get PhDs in Economics and Political Science while still pursuing his other interests. 

His lectures can be a little dry, and he knows this -- so he generally assigns readings and then grades on the basis of understanding as expressed in class discussions for topics like sociology, poli-sci, and economics. He's a good and experienced moderator, so this approach is generally well-accepted.  For Art and Culture, he generally just lets his passion carry him through, and students also respond well to someone geeking out about ancient roman statuary and modern video-game aesthetics side-by-side. 

Dr. Brawn is married to a stay-at-home mom name Naomi Littleton Brown, who is currently occupied with home-schooling their three kids (all under age ten). He has spoken to the headmaster about opening an elementary and middle school for potential Anomalies, but so far both Saint-Vincent and Salvatore have balked at the potential difficulties and liability. 

StV: New Member

"You're sure about this?" asked Charles, and Harbinger nodded. 

"I'm damned sure I want to try it," Harbinger told him. "If it doesn't work out, it's... what's that saying? No harm, no foul?"

He shrugged. "I don't actually know that one. But okay, nobody gets angry, nobody blames anybody?"

Harbinger nodded. "Exactly. Team Phoenix could use somebody to help with our mobility, and your other abilities would be hugely useful as well."

He took a deep breath. "And the part where I don't actually know how to fight?"

"You don't have to. You just have to keep yourself safe."

"Huh." He said. "Well, Troll thinks I can do it."

Harbinger nodded. "She's right. Plus, we're not a combat-heavy team, and if it really comes down to fighting that won't be your job anyway." 

"Okay. That would be good. I mean, it's interesting stuff to learn, I'm just not any good at it yet."

Harbinger paused outside the door. "That's fine. You don't have to be. Come meet the rest of the team." 

StV: Her Mother's Daughter, part two

Julie recognized the number on her phone, but ignored it and shoved it back in her pocket. Whatever was going down, her parents had brought it on themselves -- and let the Prophet drag her in and use her as His tool to try to clean up His mess. She wasn't having any more of that. She was damned lucky that Harbinger hadn't killed her -- or left her for the Hounds. 

But she'd made him an offer, and he'd accepted it. That meant she need to to act -- to let him know what she knew, to help him take down the Prophet. Maybe she'd get lucky, and Harbinger taking out the Prophet would turn her back to normal. Of course, if it did then she'd need to figure out what to do about Dastan, who was... not a deviant. An Anomaly, though, however harmless and nice he might be. 

Gods, my parents would hate that, she thought. It shouldn't have made the prospect of going out with him more appealing, but it did. She really wasn't sure how she felt about her parents right now, but angry seemed like a good start to it. 

Okay, so step one is go talk to Harbinger again, and step two is... sort out my fucking life.

It wasn't the best plan Julie had ever come up with, but it wasn't the worst either.  

StV: Florida Man, part fifteen

Tom Wilson/Florida Man,

I figure I owe you a letter at least, since you're probably getting antsy in there. Word is you've been well-behaved, and Araktul hasn't intervened. I figure that's you on your best behavior. So I wanted you to know that I'm cheering for you, and very impressed so far. And yeah, you probably still hate me for bringing you in, but you know the rules as well as I do. Better, maybe. 

I was right in thinking that people would be interested in you even with your record, so you'll definitely have some opportunities available if you keep this up. I'll tell you more about it if you write me back.

Yours, 

That Annoying Kid,
Cloudburst

* * *

Kid, 

Fuck off. I hate this, I hate you, and I can't believe I let you talk me into staying here. I haven't had a beer in two weeks. Do you have any idea what that's like? That's some kind of war crime or something. 

I mean. Yeah, all right, could be worse. I get fan mail, if you believe that. Including one woman who's clearly out of her mind because she says she wants to marry me. Still can't believe you actually wrote me, though. Means a lot. 

I'm staying put. Been thinking about some of the things you said, too. Like... out of everybody I know, the only two people who'd stand up for me are Araktul and you. And you're right, that's kind of sad. So I'll do my time and see what happens after. Not saying I'll reform or anything, just

Anyway thanks for writing,

Florida Man