StV: Student Feedback, Part One

Cedric Johnson paced back and forth in front of the headmaster's desk, while Jonathan Saint-Vincent leaned back against the windowsill, savoring the mobility that the prosthetic exoskeleton provided for him. He was fond of his students, and frequently proud of them; and mostly they responded to it, though he occasionally had to remind himself that it could also be a weakness. So he waited, watching as Cedric took a step, hesitated, took another step, and then turned back to face him.

"What do I think of Lyceus?" he asked, as if making sure he understood the question.

"Precisely," Jonathan told him. "I understand that your first encounter with him was... unexpectedly traumatic. I also know you've spoken with him, at least a bit. I'd like to know what you think of him."

Cedric swallowed. "Sir..."

"It's all right, Cedric. You aren't in trouble."

The boy's expression changed, and Jonathan realized that he'd missed his mark. Cedric wasn't worried that he was in trouble. He was worried that Lyceus might be.

"He's a good guy," Cedric said, suddenly and unexpectedly forceful. "I mean, I know Sophia put him up to some of it, but he's been trying to convince me that I didn't-- that I'm not a bad person just because I nearly killed him. Like, he really believes it. And if he believes it, well, how can I... not?" He shook his head. 

Now that was interesting. Could the two Antonius siblings, Lyceus and Sophia, be plotting something together? It didn't seem likely, given how long it had taken Lyceus to show up, how Sophia had reacted to the news of his arrival, and the simple fact that Jonathan couldn't imagine any sort of plot that would require them to make Cedric feel better about himself. "He's a very troubled young man," Jonathan ventured. 

"Yeah. He told me. He told me that's how he knew I wasn't-- that I wasn't a bad person, I mean."

"Ah," said Jonathan, nodding. "Well, if it's any help at all, both Ms. Salvatore and I agree with him about that."

Cedric paused. "Thank you, sir."

"Lyceus has asked to remain at the school, and not move on as he'd originally planned. I take it you don't have any objection to that?"

"Um... No? No. No objections." Cedric swallowed. "You don't know how good it felt to be forgiven like that." 

Jonathan felt a touch of sadness, and let it show on his face. "You might be surprised, Mr. Johnson. Very well, back to class. You've been a great help here."

"Right. Yes. Thank you, sir."

StV: The Logistics of Staying in School

"He actually asked to remain at the school?" Jonathan Saint-Vincent was surprised, though in retrospect he probably shouldn't have been. 

"He did," answered Dianna Salvatore, "and I have never in my life been more frustrated at not being able to read someone's mind."

Saint-Vincent chuckled at that. "No, I imagine not." He considered. The boy might cause problems, though so far he seemed to being going out of his way to avoid that. His sister might object; all of Team Dragon might object. "You spoke to Sophia about it, I assume?"

"Only in passing, but she seemed a little embarrassed that she hadn't brought it up herself. As far as she's concerned, it was kind of her idea. She's encouraging him to do it, at least."

"Well, that's a start." Probably I should have spoken with the rest of Team Dragon before I let him stay at all. I certainly should now. "What about the others?"

Dianna hesitated. "I haven't had a chance to talk to them about it."

"And Jade still wants him to go with Team Phoenix to Colorado?"

Dianna nodded. "She asked about it again today. I think she's confused about why we haven't just made a decision yet."

Saint-Vincent sighed. "I'd rather have him working with Team Kraken. They could use an additional member." 

"Maybe," answered Dianna, "but I'm not sure he'd bring much to the team that Gaunt doesn't provide already. I'd rather add Cloudburst to their roster and see how she does there."

That made sense, he had to admit. "All right. If Tempest agrees, Cloudburst can join Team Kraken. Lyceus can accompany Team Phoenix, and I'll talk to Team Dragon about letting him stay here at the school."

"It's going to be awkward if he works well with Team Phoenix and we decide he can't stay," Dianna said.

"Do you really think that's going to happen?"

Dianna shivered, and her expression changed. For a moment she didn't look as if she were entirely here -- or, stranger still, as if she were entirely now. "No." She shook her head, suddenly certain. "He's going to stay here. It's going to be a mess, but we'll muddle through. And at some point he's going to save Sophia's life."

"Is he?" asked Saint-Vincent. The question was rhetorical; if Dianna hadn't been certain of her premonition, she would have said so. 

"He is. Maybe others, too. He's--" She cut that thought off. 

Saint-Vincent wondered what exactly she wasn't saying, but he didn't ask. If she thought he shouldn't know, she wouldn't answer; and anyway, he trusted her. "We're still going to have to put the work in," he reminded her. 

"Yes." Her tone was firm, now. "I'll arrange interviews with the Dragons. You should start with Wrecker and Veil -- the two he injured. Meanwhile, I'll let Jade know he's cleared to go with them, and ask her to give me a report on how he performed; she won't think that's anything out of the ordinary."

"Very well," said Saint-Vincent. "Whatever happens, we'll learn a bit more about our young friend, at least."

StV: Penetration Testing

You're up late again. The message was from Dianna, of course; checking up on him again.

Jinx glanced at the chat message, then paused and clicked over to reply to it. Yeah. Somebody's been testing our firewall. Not sure who or why, though. 

There was a momentary pause, and then Dianna replied, Well, at least we know that one isn't anything to do with the new kid. His people don't work that way. 

Unless they hired somebody, David replied. But no, I don't think so. This might even be just a run-of-the-mill attempt at hacking a school. 

Is it strange to say that I kind of hope so?

Dave shook his head and just typed, No. He could do with having a problem that was just... a problem, and not an omen of worse to come. They did their best to stay ahead of things, but every once in a while their troubles ramped up into genuine dangers, and when they did it usually seemed to start with something comparatively innocuous like this. 

Listen, about the new kid... Dianna had taken three tries to type that one sentence, so she was hesitant about whatever she was about to say.

You still worrying about him? Aside from the thing with Nightmare, he sounds like he's doing fine. 

It's the thing with Nightmare, actually. I mean, that part is fine. I don't understand it, but whatever that was apparently made perfect sense to the both of them in the moment. It's just that I had a thought about it, and now I can't get it out of my head.

Dave hesitated, then typed: Oh?

Could you find out if he's ever killed anybody?

Dave went still at his desk. Why in the hell would Dianna think... Nightmare, he realized. The school had taken in troubled children before, but Nightmare was in a category all her own. If Lucian -- Lyceus -- was anything like her, that was definitely something they needed to address. Surely Sophia would have warned them, though... 

Dianna was typing again. They both insist that they were just sparring, but Bob let me have a look at his memories and that fight was bloody and as far as I can tell they were both down with that. Or there for it, or whatever the hell it is that the kids say these days. And now Jade wants Lyceus to go with Team Phoenix on their next outing, and neither Jonathan nor I know quite what to tell her. 

Dave considered that. All right, he finally responded. I'll catch him tomorrow and have a talk, see what I can find out. He might just tell me if I ask outright. He hesitated, then added another line: I'm not sure I wanted to know this. He seems like a nice kid. 

Yeah, he does. Just maybe a nice kid who's been trained to kill his family's enemies. I haven't asked Sophia; if she knew anything about that she'd have told us.

They've both been pretty clear that they weren't raised to be close to each other, Jinx observed. It seems like they're trying to make up for lost time, though. 

Just let me know, so we can figure out what to tell Jade. She's probably already wondering why we haven't answered her request. 

Student: Moonstone

Name: Abigail "Abby" Fulton Johnson
Nickname: Moonstone
Age: 16
Appearance: 5'1" with nut-brown hair and eyes, medium-light skin, and a skinny build
Notable Skills: Drums and Bass (upright or guitar), strategy games, math, Track (sprinter), orienteering.
Quirks: frequently tapping out the beat of some popular song on whatever's handy, plays in a band, hates team sports, enjoys maps and hiking, worries about what her power is making her into.

Most Anomalies gain their powers with the onset of puberty, usually around twelve or thirteen. The same may have been true for Abby Johnson, but nobody realized it until she was fifteen -- when a bicycle crash left her with a badly-scraped elbow... which quickly healed over into thick, heavy moonstone film that was considerably more damage resistant. An accidental cut while opening a box resulted in a scar of similar consistency across the palm of her hand, and it was shortly after that her pediatrician realized that her growth wasn't following normal patterns and started doing more tests. The results left Abby quietly terrified: her body was changing, she couldn't control it, and she had no idea where -- or if -- it would end. She was slowly becoming a monster, but any time she got injured the wound rapidly accelerated the process. 

Abby takes shelter in her music; she plays drums and bass with a few other students in a band they call Casual Trauma, but she also listens to music almost constantly, either for relaxed enjoyment or to pick it apart and see how it all fits together. She enjoys strategy games for the combination of challenge and socialization, and is good at math in a way that she thinks is normal but most people find quite impressive. She gets her exercise from running track -- mainly as a sprinter -- and hiking, and has recently expanded into bicycling and swimming. She's a decent but not exceptional student, and struggles with her language classes (including English).

Den of Thieves: Afterparty

"They did what?" asked the man who called himself Daystar. 

"They threw a Solstice party," Grot said. "And they've been to the Bluddy Nose, too."

Grot kept his delivery absolutely deadpan -- he'd always been good at that -- but secretly he was enjoying the unbecoming, blotchy redness that now covered the boss's face. 

"Damn them," growled the boss. "They're supposed to be laying low, not introducing themselves to the entire Guild. Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I am telling you about it. I didn't realize it was going to be a party until I got there."

Daystar was still red-faced, but his eyes narrowed at that. "Was anybody else from the Guild there?"

"No," Grot answered immediately. "Well, my cousin Keria, but she's more a member by courtesy. Stevedores. Works at the Bluddy Nose."

The boss drew a deep breath and very deliberately smoothed out the lapels of his jacket. "Well, that could have been much worse. And they trust you enough to invite you, I see."

Grot nodded. "They do."

"Hmph. Fine. Then you can keep an eye on them. At least they seem to be doing what I need."

"So what now?" 

"I need to get up to the office. Once you've dropped me there, you can go and visit again -- on foot -- and warn them to stay out of sight. I need to find some way to make them less distinctive, but..." 

"I'll warn them," Grot said. Better there than here, he thought, then cursed himself for a fool. This was a good job: it paid well, it wasn't too demanding, and the boss was every bit as cautious as he should be, given what he was doing. The boss was also high-handed and demanding, and not prone to explaining himself, which might become a problem.

Grot turned and left, heading for the stables; if he was going to have second thoughts about taking down the Guild, it was definitely better done there than here.

Public Figure: Congressman William Walton

Name: William Daniel Walton
Age: 52
Appearance: 5'8" with silvery-gray hair, clean shaven, blue eyes; neatly dressed with a trim build.
Job: U.S. Congressman (D, OR)

Representative Walton is the first "out" Anomaly to be elected to Congress, and serves in the House. He was elected on a platform of solving existing problems rather than creating more of them, and holds strong views on justice and equality. He has carefully cultivated an affable, results-oriented public persona, and avoided anything that might be construed as scandalous. He was a member of the Coast Guard before retiring to run for office.

He is perhaps fortunate that his ability to create a protective shield around himself and others is relatively unobjectionable, and has a set of memorized responses for anyone who tries to demonize him simply for being an Anomaly.

Student: Hood

Name: Adolphe John "Jack" Anderlin
Nickname: (Robin) Hood
Age: 18
Appearance: 6'4" and very thin, with frizzy brown hair that he keeps short and hazel eyes.
Notable Skills: Fencing, archery, guns, driving, basketball, electronics
Quirks: Can discuss Star Trek in endless detail, avoids caffeine and processed sugar, loves animals, hates loud noises including music, afraid of heights

Jack Anderlin is easily the best fencer at Saint Vincent's, and is one of the relatively few students to take an extensive interest in guns. He's also an experienced electrical engineer, a skillset that began as a hobby before he got really into it. His nickname -- Hood -- was cemented when he took up archery, which is fine by him. He prefers to use Jack as his regular name, since he considers John kind of boring and was teased as a child for his first name. 

Skinny and fast with lots of reach, Jack is a natural at fencing; his power as a locator allows him to find objects or people, and also gives him an acute feel for things like the movements of an opponent's blade or the location of a target; he is quite capable of hitting a moving target while blindfolded. This same ability has netted him a basketball scholarship when he heads off to college next year. He has strong feelings about social justice and works with Habitat for Humanity whenever can manage it.