[CENTER][Img]https://i.imgur.com/8BJy5WD.png[/img] [b][code]Grand Ridge - Outside[/code][/b] [sub][@Surtr Inc][@Prosaic][@Atrophy][/sub][/center][hr] Stalking wasn't exactly Nate's forte but the girls seemeed preoccupied with whatever it was they were focused on, probably . Lynn seemed to be leading the trio, taking them on a path which led towards the edge of the academy - out of the way of others, in other words. Once or twice he had to duck down behind a trash can or tuck into a space in the wall - and he was surprised even so they didn't catch his fat ass behind it. Eventually they came up to where the collective campus' trash was dropped for collection... and Lynn was drawing a symbol on the wall? [i]What? Was this some kind of satanic ritual thing that the weird girls around this place did?[/i] Before he could continue down that line of thinking, the symbol began to glow. And then- [i]What?![/i] Nate fell backwards, almost knocking over one of the trash cans he'd been knelt behind to watch this little scene. A pillar of flames had erupted from the symbol, scorching the ground and plants around it - Nate could almost smell it, if only for a second. The girls almost seemed surprised by it too, just a little - or at least like they were enjoying the show. Which confirmed that feeling in Nate's gut - what was going on? The curly haired blonde seemed excited for sure, then she followed up with a trick of her own - blasting a bunch of pens into the wall like the birdshot from the twelve gauge Quent got him to try out at the range that one time. At least that time Nate didn't end up nearly knocking over the cans and catching their attention when he saw that - but it was still mindblowing to watch. The collective memory of all eighteen years' worth of video games he'd run through couldn't hold a candle to seeing something like this. Finally, the third girl - the other east-coaster with wild hair - stepped forward, looking to show off what he could only guess was a third trick? It had to be - Nate could see a glow emanating from her wrist, then... nothing? Literally, nothing - she disappeared. Then, so did Lynn - leaving only the curly blonde to watch. It didn't last long - both reappeared in the span of a couple of seconds, but hell - that made three things that Nate hadn't expected to see today, nevermind one. Only thing that he couldn't help but notice was, like him, they took it in stride. Most people would've freaked at that - Nate? Maybe not so much, at least after the first couple times - but here they were, laughing, joking and showing off - Lynn scrawled another sigil on the wall and watched as a gust of wind blew from out of nowhere, scattering loose trash all over the place. Again, the curly blonde started talking about it - how great it was, then dropped a name for the other east-coaster - Aliana. She made some good points, too - it wasn't like people [i]wouldn't[/i] notice if they went ham on the place, throwing pens and chairs around or blowing up a classroom. What would [i]he[/i] do if he was invisible? Peek on the answers for a test? [i]Check.[/i] Sneak inside of a bank vault? [i]Check, sorry Quent.[/i] Hang out in the boys' showers? Well, seeing as he didn't need to be invisible to do that already, it was kind of a moot point - though, genders swapped, no - that was a line he wouldn't have crossed. What would Mom have said to that? [i]Jesus.[/i] Tossing her bag at the wall in a surprising change of tone, she started calling herself out, then... calling [i]them[/i] out. She made the point he'd thought up just a couple moments back about [i]not[/i] freaking out, then pointed out that after what happened at the camp, this couldn't have been just a coincidence. [i]Right.[/i] It all made sense now - a few people had said Reese had turned into Bruce Banner's redneck cousin, complete with Hulk rage and the like - even a car slamming into him hadn't stopped him for long. So he had a 'power'? Maybe it had made him crazy? A sharp sinking sensation hit him in the gut when he realised what the implication of that line was - he was still wanted, after all. If someone saw him around here, no doubt there was a good chance Quent could've been one of the first-responders to that call. And he'd be going up against [i]that.[/i] Nevermind more people going crazy like Reese. After that thought had been planted in their heads, the conversation seemed to take on more of a serious tone. Nate watched as Lynn stepped back over towards the wall again and began to draw yet another symbol. Moments after she was done, it began to glow blue, then it tore away from the wall and... "Shit!" Nate fell back against one of the trash cans, knocking it over and reflexively drew his arms up to shield himself from the incoming chunk of debris - it loomed in overhead, about to crush his head and... [i]What the fuck?[/i] Colour had bled from his vision, leaving a mass of light and dark patches which encompassed the space around him - a mass of gray overtaking the blended brickwork and metal colours of the building. When he tried to find some measure of stability, pressing a palm into the stone ground, he instead felt his entire mass lurch inwards as it sank through the stone and beyond, his arm being absorbed all the way up to his elbow. Mouthing a silent yelp, he stopped - tried to take a second to breath, then pulled back upwards, the sensation like passing through water - albeit without any damp to it. Was he dead? [i]Am I a fucking ghost?[/i] He recalled the rushing sensation where that chunk of the wall [i]should[/i] have smashed him square in the face, like he'd stuck his head on the front of a rollercoaster. Maybe it had and, hell, there [i]was[/i] something on the other side, but... no. No, he wasn't dead. He couldn't be... It clicked just then, this was just like the trio and their powers. Blinking, Nate shifted his weight forward, drove a palm into his knee to force himself to stand - because at least his feet hadn't sunk into the ground - then pressed the other palm into the stone to give himself the needed push. This time, he felt solid ground beneath his feet - and the sensation of being immersed in water dissipated, colour seeping back into view. Only then he realised that the trio had been watching. Somehow, [i]something[/i] in the sense of words poured from his mouth as he adressed them in deadpan, "What, you never saw a guy fisting the ground?"