Freddie Blackwell
Freddie was relieved as Coach Stewart's frustrations seemed to be directed upon some meathead he wasn't familiar with, and so he remained silent at the rear of the group; whilst he was thankful for his tardiness seemingly going undetected, he was constantly on edge as the domineering man barked at the class. He was an unnecessarily aggressive man who Freddie felt had the complete wrong approach to teaching. Fear might have been an effective way to control his class, but his lack of empathy made it difficult to learn anything from Stewart.
They were swiftly sorted into teams, with Freddie being allocated a role as one of the 'bad guys'. He smiled wryly, rather enjoying the idea of being villainous: all the best characters were perceived as evil, because it was they who would stop at nothing to succeed in their desires. His pleasantry soon faded as sweepingly as it had come when he realised that Mari was on the opposing team. Partly because he liked to be around her, but mostly because he didn't like the idea of being on the receiving end of her competitiveness. He scowled, surveying his own group, noticing the presence of Julian Luthor. Now there was somebody he'd gladly trade-in...
Aside from the obvious flaw in the group, as far as Freddie was concerned they had a rather solid team; he had friends in Tanya and Andy whom he knew were more than capable, and his roommate Kieran was also an obvious advantage. He knew little about Rick and Casey; but knew that the former was extremely fast and that both were likeable and non-hostile, which was always ideal for team-based activities. He had to wonder how the other team was going to manage with characters like S'tann at the helm of operations...
Aiden seemed a more than competent leader, which surprised Freddie somewhat. The guy wasn't reclusive in a strange way, but he definitely kept to himself; if Freddie could describe him in a word, it would be 'studious'. But his allocation of roles amongst the group were well-informed: Freddie was quite thrilled to be addressed before the others as Aiden requested he defended the base. Freddie nodded affirmatively.
"Consider it done." he said. As the others received their orders, Freddie reluctantly found himself agreeing with the leader that Julian was the best option for scoring them bonus points. Even with all his disdain for the son of Luthor, Freddie could not deny that the guy knew his way around mathematics, code and the like. He was many things... But dumb was not one of them. Of course, he'd never even dream of telling him that.
As the timer ran out, Freddie belted through the steel doors as swiftly as he could; though other members on his team had a clear advantage... And by that, he meant near enough everyone, and not just the three speedsters they had somehow managed to acquire. Nevertheless, it mattered not, for he had the shortest distance to move to. He wanted to get as high up as he could: his tactic was to get a decent view of the field, as well as placing himself out of harm's reach. The roof seemed the logical destination.
It didn't take him very long to climb the interior of the base; using its various steel stairwells and ladders to ascend through the maintenance hatch which lead to the roof of the large compound. A thick chill flooded through the trapdoor as soon as it was opened, causing Freddie to shiver. Fortunately, whilst he wasn't immune to the effects of the atmosphere, he had enough experience in extreme climates that he was somewhat used to dramatic conditions such as this.
He looked out over the vast field; it still blew his mind what modern technology was capable of. It seemed frankly impossible to him that all of this existed within a building on the campus grounds. In the distance, he could just barely make out the opposing team in the form of a gathering of small, coloured dots, way out on the horizon.
"Oh, that simply don't do..." he muttered to himself beneath his breath, as he began to concentrate. Raising his arms either side of his body, Freddie drew on his core; urging the effects of his powers to come to the surface and manifest. It always seemed easier for him to influence the weather here in the ARC; he suspected it was because the effects were somehow aided by the technology that conjured them within the walls of the facility.
As he focussed, a voice interrupted his train of thought. He recognised it as Rick's: "We need Freddie to make it warm. And I mean warm. In the cold, I'm useless." he said, uregency in his tone as he addressed the team. "We need to think, guys. Quick."
Freddie groaned to himself, before buzzing back in himself. "The cold is our biggest advantage, Rick," he said, trying not to sound as inconvenienced as he was feeling. "We need to hold them off as long as we can. I don't think turning the field into a beach resort is going to keep them at bay." he explained, continuing through his mental motions regardless of the request. "Andy," he called, addressing his friend. "Is there anything you can do to keep Rick warm whilst leaving our defences in tact?"
He didn't wait for an answer, as finally he felt that familiar-yet-indescrible something within him fall into place. There was no time to lose; sweeping his hands from left to right, an impressively vast cloud of fog rolled out along the field, twenty-or-thirty meters away from the entrance to the base. It was unbelievably thick; so much so that once it had settled in position, it seemed not to swirl or be disturbed by the frosty winds: it merely sat; heavy and white. It was the perfect disguise for the bunker, with the wall of fog helping it to blend seamlessly into the crisp snowy landscape. Observing his handiwork, he smiled to himself and nodded in approval of his work.
"I think that should stall them," he spoke into the communicator that was installed in his suit, addressing his teammates. "How is everyone doing?" he asked, assuming that everyone else had already gotten into position as he had been scaling the bunker. At least, he hoped so: he would look rather foolish if his actions had been premature.
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