[center][h1][color=ed1c24][i][b]𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑨𝑩𝑼𝑺𝑬𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻 𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑲[/b][/i][/color][/h1]
[h3][color=cyan]『𝕊𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣』[/color] [color=9e0039]『𝔸𝕟𝕘é𝕝𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖』[/color][color=33ec06]『𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕤』[/color][color=0095FF]『𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥』[/color][/h3][/center]
[center][img]http://i65.tinypic.com/28hztyw.png[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/Fb1UXSA.png[/img][img]http://i65.tinypic.com/21o8tg4.png[/img][img]http://i66.tinypic.com/dyqee0.png[/img][/center]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img][/center]
[hr][center][color=silver]ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕠𝕤𝕥   / /   [@RedDusk][@Riffus Maximus][@Chasers115][@Deathmyster][/color][/center][hr][hr][center][color=silver]𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟟, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕌𝕊𝔸ℝ𝕀𝕃ℕ 𝔼𝕒𝕤𝕥   / /   𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 ℤ𝕖𝕣𝕠   / /  ~𝟙𝟞𝟜𝟝[/color][/center][hr]

As the team reached the town’s plaza, Angel scanned the surroundings beneath her shades, analyzing the area. The girl may not have been the most enthusiastic about this whole idea of playing “flag and seek”, considering just how stupid that game sounded for students of a school prison to partake into, but she was a team player nonetheless. She could afford to cast away her disgust about this whole situation if it meant to make her team win.
 
[color=9e0039]“Hmm… so we really do need to find Lilianna all the while we look for the other healer…”[/color] Angel mused as she noticed she was the only girl on the team. [color=9e0039]“Hey there, guys. I’m Angélique, or Angel if you prefer.”[/color]

Marcus also looked around, viewing the area with uncertainty. The few dead bodies that littered the ground kind of took away from the gung-ho, 'let's kick ass' attitude he'd begun with. He brought his hand up to shield his eyes, sighing softly. The ruined town brought too many memories with it, memories that were also doing their best to demoralize him.

He turned as one of his teammates spoke; the chick with the sunglasses. "[color 33ec06]Yeah...lord knows they couldn't make it easy for us or anything. Marcus.[/color]" he said, smiling warmly and nodding his head.

Sander already knew what was in the cooler before the pair of guards marched it over to him. A frown creased his brow, but he didn’t voice any protest. They had already told him as much: this was mandatory, meaning he would have no choice in this matter. What he did have a choice about though…well, he didn’t want to think about it. 
 
Once his teammates started speaking up, he glanced tentatively in their direction, searching his memory to put names to faces. He only recognized the young woman with sunglasses, and only vaguely. He doubted they had exchanged names though, given the fact that their last meeting had been in less than favorable conditions. 
 
“[color=cyan]Hey.[/color]”-Since his teammates were beginning to introduce themselves, common courtesy demanded that he returned the favor –“[color=cyan]Sander Lorraine.[/color]” 

Grant looked around with a tired gaze. A game, huh. Annoying. He rolled his neck and figured that he should just get this over with, not like he really wanted to be here in the first place. He look over at the rest of his teammates. They all seemed familiar at a glance, and there was even one person he remembered. What was his name? Marcus. Right.

He let them introduce themselves first, before he said simply, [color 0095FF]"Grant."[/color] And nothing else. Didn't matter if he said any more, he would've been interrupted by...

A loud beeping noise was suddenly emitted from everyone's cuffs, followed by the musical tenor of Mr. Francisco's voice.

[color=f7976a]"Just to clarify! Due to the unique nature of his ability, Mr. Francis is exempt from being out as soon as he takes his flags off to transform. He may keep his flags on the ground, but the Scorgasms better make sure they protect it like a good dragon guards his golden hoard, because if the other team picks up all the pieces-- he's out!"[/color] A second beep signaled the end of his message.

[color=9e0039]“Right.”[/color] Angel muttered after Fredric’s announcement. She remembered how she had to protect Chris’ naked ass while he was transforming. Would he be foolish enough to take half the game’s duration to transform himself? Somehow, she was more afraid that he would be ripping their limbs apart instead of taking their flags.
 
[color=9e0039]“Well, with what he just said, I guess we could use what little time we have left for strategy, wouldn’t you agree?”[/color] the black-haired Aberration added as she pulled out folded papers from the back pocket of her jeans and beckoned the others to approach her with a wave of her hand.
 
[color=9e0039]“I’m no strategist, mind you, but I figured it would be most beneficial for everyone here to know names, faces and powers. Starting with myself, you all know my name now, and I have to power to emit destructive sonic waves by screaming loudly.”[/color]
 
 [color=9e0039]“I don’t know much about you guys, sorry.”[/color] Angélique chuckled as she realized she haven’t interacted with anyone on her team beforehand. [color=9e0039]“Let me make up for it.”[/color] She shuffled through her pages and pulled out ten sheets.

"[color 33ec06]I'm mobility.[/color]" Marcus said, very matter-of-factly. "[color 33ec06]I can basically teleport back to where I was two seconds ago, or I can jump ahead by a few seconds. Not a trick I can do over and over again, though.[/color]" he finished.
 
 Sander kept his eyes on the red canister as the conversation went on around him, moving his hand every so often to feel the liquid slosh. When Angel started on the topic of power, he looked up at her, jaws again twitching as he chose his words. It was only appropriate that he shared what he could. They were already stuck with him; there was no point in making this harder for them.

“[color=cyan]I can become stronger. After…drinking.[/color]”- He held up the red canister for emphasis, before falling silent again. 
 
"[color 33ec06]How much stronger are we talking here? Because we might be at a slight disadvantage in the power department. [/color]" Marcus said, hesitantly looking at the red canister. 

 “[color=cyan]Depends.[/color]”-Sander shrugged –“[color=cyan]It is not without risk, though.[/color]”

"[color 33ec06]"R-risk?[/color]" Marcus asked, the hesitation in voice becoming abundantly clear. "[color 33ec06]Risk of [i]what[/i], exactly?[/color]"

“[color=cyan]Depends.[/color]”-Sander repeated, eyeing the scarred boy carefully. He fell silent for a few moment, before continuing –“[color=cyan]My power isn’t exactly stable.[/color]” 

"[color 33ec06]Right. Unstable. Got it.[/color]" He did not at all get it, but at this point, he wasn't sure he wanted to ask any more questions.

Grant watched the two, Marcus and Sander, go back and forth with Q&A. Or just Q, because Marcus didn't seem to be getting any straight answers. Once there was a moment of silence from them, or hesitation, Grant cleared his throat. [color 0095FF]"I have these two chains here..."[/color] He pointed with his thumb back behind him as two chains appeared, swaying just behind him. [color 0095FF]"Whatever they touch, I can manipulate, as long as it's nonliving and in my range."[/color] He'd summarize his power before the chains lowered out of sight, and they were gone.

 While the boys were talking about their powers, Angel silently nodded, gazing upon the canisters of red liquid Sander was carrying around. What could he be possibly drinking to give him that much power? She took mental notes of what was being said, reminding herself to put add those entries to her profile sheets later on after this game.
 
[color=9e0039]"Christ, you two, stop running around in circles! He means he can lose control of himself. Haven't you seen him after that battle with the monsters? He literally was about to jump at his teammates."[/color] Angel commented, remembering well the night. First it was a stand-off against Dragon-transformed Chris, and afterwards Shane had to immobilize him into a crystal cage as he went berserk and jumped towards Christmas.
 
[color=9e0039]"Just don't overdo it. When you feel you have enough, just stop. Winning is one thing, putting your future comrades in danger because of a game is another."[/color] She added, the certainty in her voice hinting as if she knew what she was talking about.

[color=9e0039]"What is that stuff you are carrying in those containers anyway? Some sort of magic potion? Chemical-enhanced drink maybe?"[/color] Angel questioned the tall lanky boy.

 Sander fell silent at that question, his gaze once again glued to the canister. When it seemed almost like he wouldn’t give an answer at all, he let out a sigh, then said hastily, not unlike the way someone would yank a thorn out of their flesh quickly enough to minimize the pain.
 
“[color=cyan]Blood.[/color]”
 
 Hearing that, Angélique was revolted from the idea. Truly, the more she learnt about Subnaturals powers, the more twisted she thought of how Dreamcatcher's way of gifting young people their powers.
 
[color=9e0039] "As long as you don't come sucking down blood from my neck, who am I to judge, heh?" [/color]

Sander offered no remark, content to simply admire the nearby crumbling building. 
 
[color=9e0039]“Anyway, Lilianna is the small blonde girl, riiiiight there”[/color] she trailed off as she searched throughout the profile sheets she brought until she found Lilianna’s picture. [color=9e0039]“Apparently, she can transfer wounds. I don’t really know much about it beyond what we were briefed before though.”[/color]
 
[color=9e0039]“I don’t know anything about Callan and Kusari, to be honest.”[/color] She said with a hint of disappointment as she pointed the two profile pictures. [color=9e0039]“As for Christmas, well we all know he’s the guy who can heal with his blood, right?”[/color] She added as she shuffled her sheet to put the boy’s profile on top.
 
"[color 33ec06]Oh, I can help you there. Callan is basically a super hero: Super strength, super speed, the works. Kusari is...indestructible, I guess?[/color]" Marcus said, trying to find a way to describe it. He'd only seen it happen once so far, but it had held up to Emma's explanation. "[color 33ec06]She like, can heal anything you do to her. Also she's got this weird raptor leg. I really don't quite know how that fits in.[/color]"
 
[color=9e0039]“However, I’ve personally been in contact with Christopher and Siena. Let me tell you, these guys may be those who would give us a run for our money. Chris has this huge disadvantage of having to wait for five minutes to transform. He’s in great pain and is most likely unable to move while he’s trying to become a dragon. That’s our window of opportunity to grab his flags. Once he’s transformed though, we’re fucked. I saw what a Dragon could do on the battlefield. He’s reckless, savage and violent. I suggest you haul your asses’ outta his way if he manages to transform.”[/color]
 
[color=9e0039]“As for Siena, she can borrow the power of any kind of character she can read from her tablet. I’ve been here with her before today. She could tear apart a building if she wanted to. Even managed to amplify my own powers. There’s no telling what she might be up to, her powers are as versatile as the number of books she can get her hands on.”[/color]

Marcus paused for a moment. He'd never actually seen Siena in action; even back at the battlefield, he was preoccupied with his fight and didn't get a chance to see what she was going to do. He knew what he'd been told, but this woman had apparently seen them firsthand. Some sort of emotion crossed his mind; guilt for not seeing his own roommate fight? Upset that he'd not been paying attention to his own teammate during the battle? It was something along those lines, but he quickly pushed it out of his head.

Back to the topic of strategy, a welcome diversion: "[color 33ec06]Like I said, I'm mobility, so I can rush in and grab his flags if he's stuck transforming, or even if he's just big and slow, but I doubt they'll let that happen easily. There's also the matter of the healer; did anybody happen to cheat and see where they put him?[/color]" he asked, grinning and looking around. It was a big area, and if they only had ten minutes, finding the kid was probably going to be impossible.

“[color=cyan]I can help with that. Christmas is…near.[/color]”- Sander turned his head in a particular direction, eyes faraway –“[color=cyan]I think I can find him.[/color]”

"[color 33ec06]Well that makes things a little bit easier, I suppose.[/color]" Marcus said, unwilling to follow that up with a question. "[color 33ec06]So who do we worry about first, the dragon or the healer?[/color]" He mentally winced slightly at the question. He knew that whatever the answer, he was probably the best for it, while the front line fighters had their blood duel.

[color=9e0039]"Well, you said you could flash forward and backwards, right? How about you flash to wherever he dropped his flags and get back with them backwards?"[/color] Angel suggested, thinking they might as well take the opportunity for free points. Although if Sander could really find Christmas, then they shouldn't be worrying too much about the other team's flags.

[color=9e0039]"Alternatively, you could act as diversion. Like, we could go all out there and turn everyone's attention from Sander while he's going to look out for Christmas. Make ourselves as much of a threat as possible. Healers are worth a lot of points, if we can snatch him and a few flags, while making sure they don't find Lily, then we're set to win."[/color] She further added, her mind full on into imagining how the game would play out. 

[color=9e0039]"From what you've been telling, nobody on the other side has the power to immediately look after Lily. "[/color]

[color=9e0039][i]Unless...[/i][/color]

[color=9e0039]"Keep an eye on Siena though, she is the only one who could potentially have the power to seek her out, if she is mined into finding the healer instead of taking flags."[/color] Angel cautioned.

"[color 33ec06]Alright, why not do both? Run in, grab the dragon's flags. After that, tag Sander out, he goes and looks for their healer! Easy-peasy![/color]" Marcus said, starting to get excited. "[color 33ec06]If we split up one-on-one, then whoever's after Siena is effectively also defending Lily, we win, no classes![/color]"

“[color=cyan]So, do you think I need to drink for this?[/color]”- Sander suddenly said, his tone tentative. 

Marcus hesitantly shot a side glance at Angel. "[color 33ec06]I mean...depends who you're going against. Strength versus strength would be Callan, and she's [i]pretty[/i] damn strong.[/color]"

Thinking about who everyone wanted to be up against, Angel suddenly felt so useless. Sure, she might have a leading presence, but that won't stop anyone from getting past her. The only way she could effectively stop anyone dead in their tracks is to literally scream at them, and that was the least of what she wanted to do in this game. The only use she had was hand-to-hand combat, given what she had learned from her ex-bodyguard who happened to mentor her for self-defense. However, self-defense doesn't do jack shit against actual powers.

[color=9e0039]"It's likely Callan will be targeting probably every single one of us, if she is as strong as you say she is. I mean, what can we do against that? It doesn't sound like she has a particular limit in order to use her strength. Unless she is like superman and has an actual weakness to kryptonite." [/color]Angel chuckled at the stupid thought. Still, the matter of how stopping Callan without potentially injuring her was unnerving. 

[color=9e0039]"Sander shouldn't be held up by her if we want him to find Christmas. He's got to be discreet if we don't want the other team tailing him down to where their healer is. I'd think, sure, drink as much as you can actually remain in control, it wouldn't hurt to have some extra muscles in case anything happens." [/color]

"[color 33ec06]Well, I haven't been throwing rocks at her to test that one out, so I can't help you there,[/color]" Marcus said, also chucking. "[color 33ec06]Hell, even if you could just point one of us in the right direction, that could leave you to keep dealing with her. Battle of the century, clash of the titans, you know?[/color]" Marcus said, turning get Sander's opinion on the whole situation.

“[color=cyan]I can find him faster.[/color]”- Sander looked clearly uncomfortable with Marcus’ comparisons, but he didn’t mention any of it. –“[color=cyan]But if you want me to fight Callan…[/color]”- He trailed off, turning his gaze to the other team’s side. 
 
“[color=cyan]Is she very strong?[/color]” 

"[color 33ec06]To date, I've seen her bend a metal bleacher by bouncing her head off it, push that same metal bleacher back into place, and then punch a hole straight through Kusari. And that was all with the suppression cuff [i]on[/i].[/color]" Marcus said, nodding affirmatively. 

He didn't want to push anymore; this guy didn't seem to appreciate the idea of fighting, but he'd at least answer truthfully. Whatever his power was, it actually be a literal clash of the titans, assuming Callan wanted the challenge. And if there was one thing he could guess about Callan; she wanted the challenge. She'd immediately jumped at the biggest enemy their first fight, so it made sense she'd do the same thing here.

“[color=cyan]Is that so?[/color]”- Sander mumbled, almost just to himself –“[color=cyan]Then maybe she ca—[i]I[/i] can do this. I can. Can I?[/color]” 
 
With that said, Sander moved toward the cooler and opened it up again, revealing rows of canisters inside. He stared at the red canister in his hand for the longest time, before dropping it on the ground and pushed it away with the tip of his shoe. Then he reached into the cooler, fishing out the first one and opened it up. A brief moment of hesitation flicked by, before he tilled his head back and began to chug down mouthfuls. The red glow around him flickered on and off as he used his power to catch any spillage. As soon as he finished with one, he tossed the empty vessel to the ground and began with another. 

While Sander was downing the content of his canisters, Angel turned to Marcus, a look on disbelief on her face as he had heard what Callan was capable of, disturbed by her last achievement, or what she believed she heard. It wasn't just possible, surely she had misheard the scarred boy.

[color=9e0039]"Wait... She whaaat!? The fuck!?"[/color]

"[color 33ec06]Bent a bleacher, re-bent a bleacher, and then punched a hole in Kusari.[/color]" Marcus said, as casually as if he were listing off things from a grocery list. "[color 33ec06] But Kusari's the invincible one, and I guess she asked Callan to punch her?[/color]" he finished, shrugging. He took a few steps away from Sander as he spoke, not wanting to get caught in whatever the red glow around him was.

Who the hell were those peoples? From what Angel had read from the profiles, those two girls were Arbiters, no sign of being batshit crazed Aberrations like her and the others. Why the heck would they go around punching holes into each other for the heck of it? Didn't Kusari feel pain nonetheless. Has her powers effectively rendered senseless to pain? Or was she a masochist on the extreme level? Guess not every Arbiters are in control of themselves, as the popular opinion would believe. 

Part of her would want to know more about how that situation came to develop into, but deep inside she really didn't want to pry into this matter any further, already disgusted by the outcome of it. Anyway, Marcus seemed to have wandered off to Sander's side, who was still drinking down his containers filled with blood. 

[color=9e0039][i]Hope he doesn't overdo it...[/i][/color]

"[color 33ec06]J-just remember that you're only trying to get the flags, man.[/color]" Marcus said, almost as an afterthought. If he was sending this guy after his own roommate, he didn't want to be putting her in danger. Second thoughts began to race in his mind; if Sander truly did berserk, there was absolutely nothing he was going to be able to do to stop him. "[color 33ec06]Flags. Not punches, not kicks. Just the flags.[/color]" he said, more firmly this time.

Sander gave Marcus a look over his shoulder, crimson eyes impassive. He gave a nod that was barely there, before turning back. However, after a brief moment, he turned his head eastward, narrowing his eyes as if trying to catch something in the distance.

“[color=cyan]Christmas is somewhere to the right side.[/color]”-Eventually, he spoke up, gaze fixed on a faraway point, nostrils flared as he sniffed the air–“[color=cyan]At 2? 3 o’clock?[/color]”
 
Another moment of silent staring passed, and Sander returned to his cooler, plundering its content with a desperate haste. 

Angélique's gaze turned to the direction Sander believed he sniffed Christmas, about north-east from their position. Scanning the area with curious eyes, there were two options where Christmas could be hiding. The five stories-high apartment complex and what seemed to be a ruined mall. Hiding the boy in one of those buildings seemed highly dangerous, considering the heavily-damaged infrastructure of the buildings. What if they used their powers in the flag showdown? They could risk plummeting the buildings on top of their classmate's head. 

Upon focusing the area a bit more, a third unlikely option opened in Angel's mind. The open manhole. It seemed just as dangerous considering the many cracks and rupture on the streets' asphalt, but that would be one heck of a place to hide someone. 

[color=9e0039]"Have you ever tried to guess about how far you can you sense someone.?"[/color] Angel questioned Sander.[color=9e0039]"Also, can you sense people you don't know? If you can pick up anything astray, far from where we are, perhaps that might point us to where Lily is."[/color]

Sander paused once more, turning to Angel with what could only be described as a withering look. However, he said nothing, only gave a firm shake of his head then turned back to the cooler. 

"[color 33ec06]Well, glad we got that figured out. If he's taking Callan, I can try and take Dragon-boy's flags; get in and get out before he can fling me across the plaza.[/color]" Marcus said, looking to the rest of the team for confirmation. The blood in his veins was starting to boil with excitement, and he was starting to get antsy.