[COLOR=GRAY][CENTER][img]https://i.imgur.com/mP7ruSX.gif[/img][/CENTER][COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][indent][sub][B]Location:[/B] [COLOR=DARKGRAY][I]Midway City,[/I] - [I]Michigan[/I][/COLOR][/sub][sup][right][b]Episode #1:[/b] [COLOR=darkgray][I]Magnetic Madness[/I][/COLOR][/right][/sup][/indent][/color][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][color=lightgray][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [COLOR=darkgray][I][@Blizz] - Shattercrash   |   [@Damo021] - Flamebird   |   [@Hillan] - Accelerate   |   [@PapaOso] - Sacrifice[/I][/COLOR][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Post #1.01:[/b] [COLOR=darkgray][I]Laws of Attraction[/I][/COLOR][/right][/SUP][/color]
[INDENT]Groggy eyes slowly creaked open after yet another night of restless sleep. An all too eager alarm from his phone penetrated the young man's skull, the repetitive tone reverberating off the bones that comprised his now pounding head. Scattered around his bare torso were mounds of once fluffy stuffing, clearly the remnants of his latest victim. An empty pillow case tossed haphazardly onto the floor confirmed his suspicion. 

Silencing the alarm, the man let out a low growl before collapsing back against what was left of his bed. The Titans Academy had only been open for a couple of weeks now, but Lincoln 'Link' Thrope had been working in the employ of Victor Stone and S.T.A.R. Labs for the better part of a year. Link would have referred to it as his probation period if that didn't make him sound ungrateful. 

No, this was his second chance, a new lease on life. Five years ago, Lincoln had his world turned upside down. That night was such a blur. Despite the haze, he could still remember the party, and the taste of liquor, but most of all, he remembered the girl. He would never forget the girl. The look on her face, the sound of her cries and what she became seconds later. After that, it all blended. The smell of pine needles, the feel of the cool air, the pale light of a full moon and the pain of every one of his bones rapidly breaking and reforming.

Giving his head a shake, Link felt around for another pillow only to reluctantly give up upon finding another handful of loose cotton. It was likely a futile goal to try and bundle his sheet into a makeshift pillow, there was no doubt in the wolfman's mind that his sheet was more likely a collection of ribbons given his current state of fatigue. 

It wasn't unusual for Lincoln to 'sleep-shift', as Vic had so dubbed it. Link wasn't a peaceful sleeper. He didn't curl up and fall into a deep slumber. Instead, he was often visited by the ghosts of his past, the screams of his victims and the ever-present guilt of the blood spilt.   

There were precautions taken to try and reduce any unintentional shifting, however. Wally and Vic had worked with Link to isolate his triggers and even consulted a couple of experts in the field of curses and the macabre. Cracking his neck while rolling into a sitting position, Link's eyes were drawn to the whiteboard full of the "rules".

[b]'[code]RULE #1: BE WELL RESTED[/code]'[/b]

[COLOR=lightgray][i]Glad to see that one is working out so well...[/i][/COLOR] 

Link allowed himself the sarcastic thought, but contained the eye roll. It was a well-intentioned list, and there wouldn't be any harm in him getting a good night's sleep. It was just, that it never happened. His healing factor negated any over-the-counter sleeping pills, and the constant nightmares took care of the rest. 

Stretching his arms forward to touch his toes, Lincoln straightened up before making his way towards the closet to get dressed. He'd already made the mistake of going down to breakfast in nothing but his boxers once since the academy doors opened. Shockingly, not everyone was quite as comfortable with casual nudity. But then again, not everyone shredded their clothes regularly to transform into a giant wolf.

It was a short walk from his quarters into the joint kitchen and dining area. No doubt Vic had planned that intentionally to ensure that Link would be enticed to eat every morning. The smells of sizzling sausages and fresh bacon grease wafted towards him, his enhanced senses picking through every layer of the aromas. Link could have told exactly what each had been smoked in, the herbs and spices put into them and even the diet of each animal before it had become the delicious breakfast the other students would get to enjoy.

[b]'[code]RULE #2: ABSTAIN FROM MEAT[/code]'[/b]

His stomach growled again. Wally and Vic felt that meat incited animal-like urges in Lincoln which would make him transform. That made this particular experience very hard. Long gone were the days of dining on a beautiful porterhouse steak down at the yacht club with his father. Now were the days of yogurt parfaits and scrabbled eggs.

Sitting down to eat what passed as a meal, Lincoln lifted the fork to his mouth only to jump as the entire building began to echo with an alarm. An annoyed growl escaped his lips as Cyborg's voice echoed through the dining area.

[color=white]“If you’re here at the academy suit up and get ready to go into the field. There’s been an accident at STAR Labs and the local authorities aren’t able to get through. Meet me out back at the helipad in three minutes to teleport there. Cyborg out.”[/color]

Furrowing his brow, Link looked around briefly before lifting his plate to his chin and emptying its contents into his mouth. Quickly chewing, he wiped his mouth before swallowing hard. 

It was time to go to work.[/INDENT][CENTER][img]https://i.imgur.com/HbUk93u.png[/img][/CENTER]
[table][row][indent][COLOR=GRAY]There was a part of Blitzkrieg that assumed he would never get used to Boom Tube travel. The sudden location changes heavily screwed with his sense of equilibrium and even now he was severely regretting scoffing down his breakfast in the manner he had.

The assembled team was an odd hodgepodge of academy members. Cyborg himself was leading the mission, and while they mostly comprised of students he saw constantly around the building, there were at least two part-timers in the form of Accelerate and Switchblade.

Accelerate and Oracle had been assigned to crowd control and Blitz felt a twinge of jealousy of not being assigned to work with Kennedy. Nonetheless, there wasn't time to dwell on Switchblade launched into action. The large sword was quickly turned against the group, and Blitzkrieg found himself moving out of the way of his alleged ally's weapon.

Cyborg fell next, the villain's powers making quick work of the mostly machine hero. It was clear most conventional weapons were not going to work here. In hindsight, it would have been nice to bring Origami on this one. Thankfully they had Shattercrash and Flamebird, not to mention himself.

[color=lightgray][i]Time to put on the gameface.[/i][/color][/COLOR][/indent][sup][h3][color=2e2c2c][b]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[right]▅▅▅▅▅▅[/right][/b][/color][/h3][/sup][/row][row][cell][/cell][cell][COLOR=GRAY]With the academy having been open for such a short time, very few students were aware of who or even what Blitzkrieg was. While some might have seen his partial transformation before, no one outside of Cyborg had ever seen Blitz in his full form.

If things started improving here, they still wouldn't.

His eyes glowed red as he allowed himself a partial transformation. Fangs extended in his mouth as his ears grew pointed. His scruff became thicker and more prominent as did his brow. Blood dripped from his hands as claws replaced fingernails.

[color=lightgray]"Accelerate! Get Cyborg out of here!"[/color] Blitzkrieg roared, [color=lightgray]"Shattercrash, Flamebird, take the offensive, Sacrifice see if you can support them."[/color] Turning to Switchblade, Blitz growled as the younger boy scrambled for another knife to throw toward their opponent.

[color=lightgray]"[b]YOU![/b] Stop throwing knives and help Oracle with crowd control."[/color]

Without a further word, Blitzkrieg split from the group, scaling a nearby wall to the next floor. Without Accelerate, Oracle and Switchblade were going to need his help if they were to get these citizens free from harm.[/COLOR][/cell][cell][sup][h3][right][color=2e2c2c].....................................................[/color][/right]
[sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/hnynSol.gif[/img][color=2e2c2c]...[/color][/sup][/h3][/sup][/cell][/row][/table][/INDENT][/color]