[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/292173065305980928/364186321910104075/coollogo_com-51421619.png[/img]
[sub]Banner credit to Nitemare Shape. Thanks Boss![/sub][/center]

Nicky sat with her elbows on her knees, chin in her hands. They had apparently determined she would be back at some point, and had had clothes ready for her in the correct sizes, probably thanks to Grisham's limited physical exams. Now she wore black rip-stop skater shorts, a white tee and a grey hoodie. She had staunchly refused shoes until; it was pointed out to her that businesses wouldn't let her in and she could still carry bacteria around on her skin.
 So she had agreed to at least wear shitty trainers and ankle socks, though she reminded them that her feet would outlast anything strapped to them. Her black hair was held out of her face by a pair of clips, since it wasn't long enough for a good ponytail. The little flower-shaped things were a “welcome back” gift from Megami, who promised they were almost as durable as she was.

Megami sat at her side, though not in the form Nicole was most used to seeing her, instead as a very pristine and prim red fox, with luxurious and shining fur that the teen was sure would never survive five minutes in the wild on a real fox. They were chatting in Mandarin, waiting for their third.

[color=azure]<Wait, so today is actually an experiment? God [i]damn[/i] it Crawford![/color]

The fox rolled its eyes. <You shouldn't be mad at him. It was her idea. That's how a lot of the tests around here go.>

Nicole stopped herself from getting up in fury and stared at her companion. [color=azure]<What do you mean?>[/color]

<Well,> said the fox. Her mouth wasn't moving, and Nicky was pretty sure she was using telepathy, though she couldn't be sure. <You, for example, have much more of a sense for how invulnerable you are than any of us ever could. Crawford can probably think of it scientifically, but his brain refuses to believe there isn't a breaking point. Even [i]I[/i] have some problems with some of you. The limits of your powers are much more visible to you than to outsiders, [i]especially[/i] those who don't have powers themselves.>

[color=azure]<Okay, I guess I can understand that.>[/color]

<The case is even more pronounced with people like yourself or Miss Rose, whose powers tend towards what science deems physically impossible. Flight and lasers and other things are at least in the same realm as normal, even if the source is unusual and the mechanisms not quite understood. But you, specifically, would make physicists cry trying to work out what was happening.>

Nicole grinned at the thought of making ivory tower college kids weep just by being in the same room, but that reverie was quickly broken as a pair of black heels appeared in front of her, attached to black slacks-covered legs. Nicky's eyes tracked up, past an absolutely ridiculous white blouse, waistcoat, and long black jacket, and up to Rose's face, where she absolutely lost it in a fit of giggles.

Rose placed a hand on her hip and stared forlornly at the girl. “What? What's so wrong with being stylish?”

Nicky recovered her breath enough to stand up and take a swipe at the black top hat on rose's head, which was disappointingly immaterial to her hand. [color=azure] “Sure, dude. Stylish if you were a magician in the twenties.”[/color] She calmed herself quickly, and watched Rose pick up the suddenly appearing leash that led to a rhinestone studded black collar on Megami. [color=azure]”So what exactly are we testing?”[/color]

“Something I couldn't without you here, actually. We're going to see how far I can project.”

[color=azure]”And you need me for that?”[/color]

Rose smiled indulgently. “Well, I can't know the exact bounds I get to because I can't carry the pedometer you've got back once I disappear. Megami is here to watch out for danger. [i]You[/i] are completely risk free, unlike everyone else, [i]and[/i] you look normal. I couldn't very well ask Marble to go with me.”

The black-haired teen nodded. [color=azure] “That makes sense. So where are we going?”[/color]

“Up to you! I'm just happy to get out with someone!”

Nicky gave her a sidelong glance as they started down the pavement. [color=azure]”Can't you go out whenever you want?”[/color]

“Ye-es.” The reply was drawn out, like Rose was thinking, which Nicky realised she probably was. “But to be out with someone else who knows the reality of my situation is different. And if this goes well, I can take the [i]real[/i] me with us, and if something happens and I can't manifest or whatever, you'll still be around to get me to safety.”

Rose gave her her own sidelong glance, and said with a frown, “Besides, it seems like you could use an actual friend or two, kid.”

Nicky scowled and stepped out along the pavement. Rose and Megami followed. The psychic impression or whatever that comprised Rose's “out” form walked with some flair, acting like she owned the pavement and daring people to comment on the fox trotting primly alongside her. The only clue Nicky could pick up that she wasn't really there was the occasional lack of sound from her steps, which made the teenager frown in thought. [i][color=azure]So she has to consciously handle literally everything she does. That seems like too much work.[/color][/i] On the plus side, she was now outside, and the summer sun shone down like a signal that, however much her life might suck these days, at least this season was still a time for relaxation.

She had been made aware that, due to her status as a minor and an orphan, part of the deal with her staying at the facility was that she had to still do all the classwork that normally would come her way, albeit in a much less traditional fashion. The state was still finding her an attorney to represent her and a social caseworker, but her unique situation coupled with all the trouble lately had put her on the sidelines in terms of priority, something which suited her just fine. If she could just be left alone to her own devices, she thought, everything would at least get to some semblance of normal.

She was surprised that, when she looked up, the sun had sunk quite a bit. Megami's little fox form was panting, and Rose was beginning to look pale and had called out to her to stop for a minute while they found a water fountain for the poor thing. Nicky still wasn't entirely certain what as up with the Japanese girl, but she wasn't going to make any disparaging remarks right now. After all, she was effectively immune to thirst and Rose was technically back at the facility, so Megami ruled the breaks at the moment. They made a turn down a foot path into a small park and found a fountain with a dog spout lower down which Megami gratefully drank from, making not a whiff of fuss that she wasn't actually a dog.

Nicky had just leaned against a tree when the two men sprang out of the bushes. They wore masks and nondescript clothes, and were built like concrete foundations, thick with muscle and not of the size any of the three of them could do much. Rose's hand immediately went out like a Jedi's, obviously trying some sort of telekinetic force, but she barely even slowed the man she aimed at. Megami backed away, growling, and then gave Nicky one long, meaningful look before spinning and taking off into the park like a shot. 

Nicky, for her part, threw herself without much thought at the men, yelling like a madwoman and throwing punches, all of what little training she had gotten in China immediately forgotten. Her only goal was to protect her friends. Rose vanished as one of the men punched her in the face. The other went down as Nicky leapt up and planted her knees in his chest, screaming and flailing at his face with her fists. He threw up his arms to defend himself, and the other swiftly arrived behind her and simply wrapped his arms around hers, pinning her at the elbows, and then lifted. A hood was thrown over her face, and she couldn't see anything else as she was dragged, kicking and screaming, from the area.