[COLOR=GRAY][INDENT][INDENT][i]
Adrianna started to unpack and load up her closet, segregating space for her orange lined school uniforms, before racking the most likely rotation of clothes.  She'd brought a lot, and the closet was fast filling.

The television was on some weekend day time viewing soft piece as she moved around the room unpacking and making it her own.  She'd already paid for and set up several streaming services on the television already, but was looking for something that wouldn't distract her too much from the task at hand.

She glanced up at the television from one corner of her room and winced.  [b]'That wouldn't do.'[/b]

The television was mounted on a moveable bracket that could swivel and face any point in the room.  But it was static.  Fine for if you wanted to sit in a set corner and watch, as optimally as in an opposing corner.  But it required constant adjustment if one were to move around the floor.

She temporarily stopped packing and removed some machinery from a box.  She started to fiddle with it, feeling out the humm.  Pressing it into place, until she was satisfied.  She took each device and slid them down one to each side of the bracket.  She then rotated her head and pressed her earlobe to activate the implant she had set there.

She then walked from one side of the room to the other, watching as the television followed her around the room.  [b]'Better.'[/b]  She walked to the television.  It was maybe an inch or two askew, since it was calibrated and aligned with the singular implant.  [b]'Better, but still enough to drive you nuts.'[/b]  She activated the second implant in her other earlobe and felt out to the humm, adjusting the commands, a simple algorithm, splitting the two messages from the implants and aligning accordingly.  She turned her head side to side and the television turned a mild amount.  She then faced it front on and leant left and right and the television moved further with each movement.  She stepped away and walked back and forward, it followed her in perfect alignment.  [b]'Much better.'[/b]

She reached out to the humm and slightly adjusted the volume more to her liking before getting back to the task of making the room more 'her'.

A space was left in pride of place at the desk.  That would be coming tomorrow.  She smiled at the thought.
[/i]


[/INDENT][/INDENT][hr][CENTER][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1070792705547980842/1116812153475838074/Adrianna_Strigidae.png[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=SILVER][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=SILVER][b]First Class: # 2.87[/b][/COLOR] [I]Failing the Bechtel Test Miserably[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][color=SILVER][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] Makenna[/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=SILVER][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]FileName# 'Lutra' Not Found. Try Again? Y or N?[/I][/right][/SUP]
[INDENT]
[color=lime]"Ugh![/color]  Adie exclaimed in horrified disgust as she opened the door to her dorm.

[color=BC8F8F]"What is it, Adie?"[/color]  Makenna asked sweetly from across the room, their relationship having already carried from 'Makenna and Adrianna' to 'Makenna and Adie' overnight.  Adie of course oblivious to the subliminal shift in power that only one of their names seemed to be open to the informal.

[color=lime]"You wouldn't believe it!  There was [b]THE MOST[/b] obnoxious Australian guy out there.  Completely unbelievable.  He actually thought I was hitting on him.  Yecch.  As... if..."[/color]

[color=BC8F8F]"Australian guy?"[/color]  [i]'Surely not'.[/i]  Makenna thought to herself, wondering what to make of this.  The last that she'd seen of that one was when she caught an unfortunate glimpse of him when he was a discoloured unrecognisable mess in the Intensive Care Unit.

[color=lime]"Yeah, he, like, picked up a package for me downstairs, and I thought he was just being nice.  And then it's all. 'Where they keepin' a lovely sheila like you?  Which room are ya in?'  I told him to just put the box down outside, so he knows this is the floor unfortunately, but at least he doesn't know the room.  I mean, stalker much?"[/color]

[color=BC8F8F]"Well, the only Australian guy I know at this school was in Blackjack when I was there.  You know, the one Hyperion threw that night.  Banjo?  He's been getting talked about all around the school at the moment.  God only knows why."[/color]

[color=lime]"He's been getting talked about around the school?  He was the guy who was in a crumpled heap, who I managed to rush to the infirmary?"[/color]  She asked, not hiding her surprise.  Her hand fell to her cheek, then to her hair.  [color=lime]"Why..?  What are they saying?"[/color]

Makenna tried to hide her glee.  She seemed to have just found one of 'the Adrianna Dahl's' weak points.  Possibly what had cost her a multi-billion dollar company.  For someone who worked so brilliantly in the information age, she seemed to lack a finger on the pulse of public sentiment and divining truth from gossip.  Further to the point, there seemed to be more to this story with the 'obnoxious Australian' than she seemed to first let on.  If not just the Australian lunatic, perhaps she had a soft spot for trying to find a guy in general.  But right now, this was even better.  The night by the fireplace.  She had valuable information to trade on this one.

She could ingratiate herself further with 'the Adrianna Dahl'.  She could use this to cause major disruption between two rival teams in Blackjack and Firebird.  She could stoke flames and strike at that blonde bitch over on Blackjack and her little boytoy.  Perhaps even - if she could dare to hope - manouever a way that Adrianna Dahl could actually take the crazy Australian from her... she could hold the age difference over her forever.  She'd [b]'OWN'[/b] her.  Imagine [b]owning[/b] one of the wealthiest, most brilliant metahuman businesswomen in the world.  Sure, a man in the executive sphere could find a way to sneak away from taking an underaged lover, but a woman?  The possibilities...

[color=BC8F8F]"Oh, ever since that night he's kind of become 'Big Man on Campus', or whatever.  People impressed by childish things, just because he stood up to a hyperhuman terrorist."[/color]

[color=lime]"He did..?"[/color]  Adrianna hadn't noticed at all what he had done that night.  She was too busy trying to make a difference.  Reaching into the humm to try and find a way to stop him that night.  She hadn't noticed who else had made an effort to stand up to him.

[color=BC8F8F]"Oh, well, he just ran his mouth at him when he'd depowered the area.  You know, when Hyperion was trying to convince those other kids, like the ones who left Eclipse, to go and join him.  Just because he was willing to say a lot of coarse stuff to him when he was basically powerless. They all talk about him like he's some kind of hero."[/color]

Makenna kept hitting the same buttons.  'Big Man on Campus', 'school hero', 'Mr Popular'.  Painting the picture of him as this ultimate prize, what she had missed out on in her earlier school days, 'Oh of course you could do much better than him, Adie', 'He's just what these [b]Young impressionable[/b] kids see as being cool'.

Adie felt cared for.  Her friend was saying all the right things.  'You're too good for him', 'He wouldn't deserve you' is what she was hearing, but these notions rang like hollow platitudes inside her head.  She started to wonder.  She tried to remember what she thought of him from that night, but was coming up with nothing.  Her memory for regular social interaction and events had never been great.  She could remember every line of coding from her first jobs - but this kind of thing seldom stuck in her head.  Fortunately she came up with workarounds that meant she didn't [b]HAVE[/b] to rely on that memory.  Her drone.  It was still in her room.  She'd recorded everything from that night.

[color=lime]"Really?  He was powerless?  And he still did what he did?  Did [b]HE[/b] know that he was powerless?"[/color]

[color=BC8F8F]"Well, from what he told me about his powers.  He couldn't [b]NOT[/b] know."[/color]  Makenna replied.  Leaving just the right trail of breadcrumbs.

[color=lime]"Wait... He spoke to you?"[/color]  Of course he did.  Adie thought to herself.  The sociable, affable Makenna.  Dependable Makenna.  She probably tried to get to know everyone.  Hold that volatile team together despite themselves.

[color=BC8F8F]"Well, yes.  His powers, he feeds off the sun and warmth.  It was night, Hyperion used cloud cover, the cold rain.  He would have known.  He's... kind of impulsive."[/color]  Makenna slowly trickled out what she knew.  She'd make Adrianna hang on every word.  Watching Adie's expression she could tell she had her well on the hook.

[color=BC8F8F]"Yes, he spoke to me.  You know, I kind of had to show him the ring a few times, and then drop the fact that I was engaged.  Once I did that, he took the hint.  I don't think he really connected the ring with that - in hindsight, it was almost like he just thought it was some fancy ring I was proud of.  See he never really--"[/color]  She stopped as if realizing that she was telling too much.  [color=BC8F8F]"Oh, but it's probably not my place to tell."[/color]  She hung Adie out on an excruciating point.

[color=lime]"What?"[/color]  Adie asked.  Makenna had pulled up as if she was sharing too much.  She knew more about him?  Private things, sensitive things?  [color=lime]"What, 'Kenna--"[/color]  She pulled back as if too informal.  [color=lime]"What, Makenna, oh please?  You can tell me.  You know me, I wouldn't tell a soul."[/color]

Makenna felt warmth surge through her.  The power.  She had her, she was almost sure.  The excitement, she could feel it.  She knew she wouldn't tell a soul.  'The Adrianna Dahl', she scoffed in her own head.  After all, who could she tell?  As far as she could tell, she was relying on her for almost all of her information and social interaction at this school.

[color=BC8F8F]"Well...[/color]  She dragged it out just a little more.  Just that excruciatingly small beat, and enjoyed every fraction of a second of it.  [color=BC8F8F]"Only because it's you, Adie..."[/color]  Internally she was almost laughing.  He had been more than willing to part with this prime piece of information that night to anyone who'd listen, and she was clinging to it like a precious gem.

[color=BC8F8F]"I don't know that he really 'got' that it wasn't just an expensive fancy ring, to him.  You see, hee kind of had to grow up without much.  He confided in me-- he never even knew his parents.  He grew up in foster care facilities and boarding houses.  I think that might be why he-- well, perhaps he struggles to come to terms with own emotions and how he feels.  Might even explain how he was with you out there.  If someone had abandonment issues... and then is interested in a girl.  Maybe he gets some kind of 'sour grapes' about him when she doesn't just roll over and throw herself at his feet.  Like I said... you deserve better.  It doesn't excuse his behaviour.  Just, maybe explains it a little."[/color]

Adie thought back to the elevator.  She'd called him out.  I mean, he [b]WAS[/b] interested in her, right?  Her radar wasn't that far off, surely?  Maybe he didn't have a phone, and maybe-- MAAAAYBE he really didn't know who she was.  I mean Makenna didn't and he was all the way from Australia and didn't even have a phone.  That's no crime to not know who she was.  Maybe he just liked what he saw, and was making a move.  There's no crime in that-- it's actually kind of sweet.  She'd called him out on it, and, damaged his ego maybe?  Huh.  She thought to herself.  Men's egos could absolutely be that sensitive.  Makenna's theory absolutely rang true to her.

[color=BC8F8F]"There is another thing though..."[/color]  Getting ready for the necessary gear change.

[color=lime]"What's that?"[/color]  Adie asked.

[color=BC8F8F]"Well, that night..."[/color]  She subtly paused to check Adrianna was still hanging on every word.  [color=BC8F8F]"He had been getting very close and touchy-feely with one... Calliope DeLeon.  I'm sure you noticed, she's also on Team Blackjack.  And I'm sure the name there hasn't exactly been lost on you."[/color]

Adrianna secretly donated to many hyperhuman causes both politically, and in terms of charity, but she'd never really paid much mind to the families surrounding the political figures.  This one was different though.  An anti-hyperhuman senator who's daughter very publicly was outed as one herself in an emphatic display of public damage.  She hadn't previously made the connection by her appearance, at any of the ceremonies.  But now that the name DeLeon was mentioned...

[color=lime]"DeLeon?  As in Garcia DeLeon?"[/color]  She gasped.

[color=BC8F8F]"Exactly.  His daughter.  Very close.  Veeeeeery cosy.  Of course... it was only that night and he's been in hospital until... well, presumably just now, if we're talking about the same Australian."[/color]

[color=lime]"Ohmigosh![/color]  She exclaimed.  Barely able to believe it.  [color=lime]"Does he know?"[/color]

A wry smile crossed Makenna's face.  Yes.  She had her.  She was certain of it.  The final stabbing blow.

[color=BC8F8F]"Well...  I wasn't privvy to [b]ALL[/b] of their whispered conversations, but if you were a young girl looking to sink your claws into a guy like that, would you advertise that fact?"[/color]

Adrianna gasped in awe.  Makenna's smile thinned and she shrugged as if that was all there was to be said on the matter.

[color=lime]"Wow.  Unbelievable.  Well-- My setup's here now, and I really shouldn't leave it in the box outside."[/color]

[color=BC8F8F]"That's fine.  If you need any help, you just ask."[/color]  Makenna said sweetly, knowing full well the request would never come.  It was, after all, Adrianna's natural element.  She made herself a cup of tea from the boiling water of the dorm's coffee machine, and watched as Adie carried the equipment for her new computer build through their dormitory, closing the door when she'd brought the last of it in.

The television followed her around the room, as if begging the question.

[i]'Well...'[/i]  She thought.  [i]'Maybe just while I work.'[/i]

She reached into the humm and connected the drone's video archive to the television and started playing that night.  Despite the drone having to keep its distance, the high quality camera and microphones kept the video and audio pristine, despite the weather condiotions and zoom.

[color=white]“Do you not see, this is how Hyperhumans should be treating one another. Together we are immortal, invincible, we could be gods to this world.”[/color] [color=lightslategray]The hooded figure placed a hand on the traitor Tad’s shoulder,[/color] [color=white]“I am Hyperion, and you are my children. Come to your sire’s side as your advisor has.”[/color]

[color=lightslategray]Suddenly the masked assailant multiplied, spreading out around the students and faculty alike, fencing them in. The original Hyperion made a subtle swipe through the air, pushing the staff aside, their copies aiding in parting the crowd until the original was looking directly at a pale student.[/color]

[color=white]“You my dear, you represent the best of us, the purest of us. Your gifts have transformed you into a new standard of beauty, these students with their mundane appearance, barely distinguishable from humans, they should worship the very ground you grace.”

“Did the Hindus not worship Shiva? Why should you settle for less?” 

“Did the Egyptians not worship Anubis and Horus? Why should you let ants belittle you into hiding your true nature?”[/color]  Adie found herself sickened at his rhetoric.

[color=white]“And you!” 

“You let them bind you to a metal chair. Can you not hear the very soil beneath your feet crying for your touch, their mother Gaia, taken from them, forced to into that metal torture chair and that abomination of a device on your temple.”[/color] 

[color=lightslategray]Raising their hands toward the sky, Hyperion continued.[/color]

[color=white]“Under my tutelage, you will walk, nay you will run atop of mountains and raise entire nations.”[/color] 

[color=lightslategray]With an open palm, Hyperion pulled Rory into the forefront.[/color] 

[color=white]“You have so much untapped potential, if you had the stomach for it, you could stand on my left, I could give you anything you desire, power, wealth, endless comfort?”[/color] 

[color=lightslategray]Dropping one of the Blackjack teammembers, Hyperion telekinetically plucked Lucas out of the crowd, suspending the boy with one hand, and their plush dinosaur with another.  Adie gasped.  She wasn't even aware that had happened at the time.[/color]

[color=white]“Don’t you get tired of living in the past? Seeing echoes of things that already happened?”

“If you come home, I will unfold your future. It doesn’t lie here, in this military academy. This is built to appease those who are beneath you. To restrain and limit you, I give you a world with no limitations, I will unfold your future.”[/color]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Alright, settle down Squid Game.  We've got enough bloody fun and games on the itinerary already... Red Light!"[/color]  Adie smirked at the line.

Okay.  That was a little hokey.  A little 'Action Movie cliche', but it was still funny.  Making fun of his mask which kind of looked like the one from the Netflix TV series.  She could see why it struck such a chord with the young student base.

The drone panned to take both speakers into frame.  It was this 'Banjo' - the one in the elevator.  But he looked... much more.  He was bigger than the leaner version she had seen minutes earlier.  When she saw him he was less muscular.  But she supposed that was understandable, he'd been in the infirmary all week.

[color=white]“Don’t you get tired of feeling alone, having to always wear that armour you lug around? You have so many looking for you,”

“I’ve met them, your parents that is. Don’t you get tired of running? Have you ever wondered if he truly has your best interests at heart or if you’re just a burden of obligation? Stand with me instead, I assure you I want you by my side and there will be no more running.”[/color]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Yeeeeeeah... the kind of dynamic I suspect you would want you and I to have..?  I'm pretty bloody sure I'm gonna clash...  sorry, correction, don't want to give you the wrong idea... [b]I WOULD MAKE IT MY BUSINESS[/b] to ensure that I clash."[/color]

She gasped.  Makenna was right.  He [b]HAD[/b] to know what was in store for him.  Powerless.  Surrounded by scared powerless people.  He was offered his own family.  Surely everything he'd never had and always wanted.  And he didn't even flinch.  He was defiant even when he knew had everything to lose and could have had everything to gain.  He was principled in a way that-- almost reminded her of her own father. 

[color=lightslategray]With a twist of his wrist, Hyperion lifted Banjo into the air. Holding Banjo briefly, the masked figure pulled the suspended teen closer, inspecting the boy.[/color]

[color=white]“I’ll give you one more chance to answer.”[/color]

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Go fuck yourself."[/color] [color=lightslategray]Banjo smirked.[/color]

The threat wasn't even just implicit.  He'd shown his power, and he still leant in harder with defiance.

It actually-- it was actually kind of sexy.
[center][h3][sub][color=darkgoldenrod][b]"Lady, I'm seventeen."[/b][/color][/sub][/h3][/center]

The memory jolted her back again.  Her with her palms out in the hallway outside of her room.  As if trying to hold back a torrent.

If she had to reach for a remote, maybe she would have had a second's thought.  Realised how ridiculous she was for following this path.

But with barely a thought she reached into the humm and played it back.

[color=darkgoldenrod]"Alright, settle down Squid Game.  We've got enough bloody fun and games on the itinerary already..."[/color]  Adie bit her lip.

Outside of the door, Makenna leant against it listening in.  Her tea in her hands, ready to call out to Adrianna to ask her if she wanted a cup, should she get caught.  She smiled.

[color=darkgoldenrod]"... Red light!"[/color]

[hr]

Adrianna woke up from her best night's sleep in a while.  Makenna would have left early for her shift of Community Contribution at the Infirmary, and their two roommates weren't up themselves yet.

Adie had her own Community Contribution to perform before her first class.  Practical training at the A.R.C.  She was buzzing with excitement.  The A.R.C was a technological masterpiece she was yet to experience.  But first... the drudge.

Her community contribution was performing I.T duties for the school in the internal department.

A task well beneath her skills, but at least it gave her time to think of things as it wasn't overly taxing.

The most taxing part was having to deal with the people behind the machines.

The stupid people, who on occasion were dumb enough to have porn playing in the background [b]WHEN THEY CALL IT FOR AN ISSUE THAT REQUIRES SCREEN MIRRORING[/b].  Ugh.  The people were 95% of the causes of the problems she dealt with.

Still, with the excitement of today's first classes on her mind, and the occasional fluttering through of the video footage from her drone she'd watched the afternoon before, the morning's shift passed quickly.

She picked up her laptop and hurried off to the Mess Hall - the meeting place for the First class.

[hr]

By the time she got there a few others had congregated.  Adie kept her distance, since she recognised one of them, thanks to Makenna's help yesterday.

That blonde girl who'd ingratiated herself with Banjo that night.  She was looking to do it again with another of the student's.  Adrianna gave a disgusted look as she waved at another blonde girl, who was sitting with Efraim.  Or maybe she was trying to put the feelers out to see how up for it Efraim would be, and was using how 'nice' she could be to the other students as a lure.  Ugh.  She hoped she wouldn't say anything to her and force her to pretend to be nice back.

She couldn't stand fake people.

So instead she waited towards the back and hoped Makenna would get here soon.

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