Kuro

How high can we count before a mod gets involved?

24

How high can we count before a mod gets involved?

22

Ju-V

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_{Location: Sports Court - AEGIS Complex, Alcatraz Island}

Issue #2: And Now For My Next Trick...

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_{Interaction(s): No One}

Previously: First Impressions

Before the warden could respond, the introduction ceremony turned from awkward to chaotic.

A sudden yelp of pain echoed from the crowd of AEGIS attendees, prompting Natsumi to turn around towards the commotion. As she looked back, however, Natsumi felt her body seize up in place. One of them, a man that looked worse for wear, held a blade-like object made from a tawny-colored feather between his hands. Her nerves were on heightened alert, and she panicked in her mind, uncertain what to do or how to react. She had never been in such a scenario before, being face-to-face with an armed individual. All Natsumi could focus on was the knife in his hands, and whether to fight or flight.

The second tasers and fists went flying, her body made a choice—flight.

Her attention locked on the blade, Natsumi was too oblivious to notice the change. Had anyone looked in her direction, they would see Natsumi vanish into thin air. Flesh and clothing bent and reflected off light, and in mere seconds every segment of Natsumi had phased out of existence to the human eye. To an onlooker, it would be perfectly safe to assume that she was gone; that she had used the chaos to get out of AEGIS and escape.

"SHE'S VANISHING!"

The guard from before shouted again, much to the surprise of Natsumi. She looked down at her own hands that were now invisible, and her mind suddenly panicked. No. This wasn't happening. At least, not now. Not here. She hadn't been trying to run or flee from the compound. This incident was just out of reflex; a defense mechanism that took over due to the sudden brawl. Surely, the AEGIS staff would at least understand that, right? RIGHT?

"Wait!" Natsumi pleaded; her voice coming seemingly from nowhere. "Sorry, I don't know how to tu—"

Unfortunately for Natsumi, her pleas fell on deaf ears. The next thing she knew was pain as she faded back into existence, having collapsed to her knees in the process. Her eyes burned with pepper spray, while her lungs ached from an endless cough. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but the pain and irritation was simply too unbearable to do so.

Ju-V

suz is that you

Requesting Name Change

@DesperatePerson If you go into your profile settings, you can manually change your name without the need of a mod. It's a neat feature that just got added to the Guild recently.

Ju-V

Aegis. Ju-V. Rehabilitation.

Being native to San Francisco, Natsumi was vaguely familiar with the organization that she now found herself under. It had been the talk of the city as Aegis swooped in and redeveloped the former Alcatraz Island for "metahumans", or otherwise people with superhero-esque abilities that differentiated them from normal, everyday humans.

Despite the island being a former prison, Natsumi had often looked towards it with a peculiar interest, frequently wondering what sort of people now lived on the island. Was there someone who could shoot lasers out of their eyes? What about someone who could control the weather? Her endless curiosity never seemed to be sated, constantly desiring to know more about the Aegis Center and the island's new inhabitants.

That said, she never expected to travel to the island as a metahuman herself.

Admittedly, a piece of Natsumi was still nervous. She wasn't human anymore. At least, she wasn't in a non-meta sense. Her body had gained the ability to disappear into thin air, turning herself completely invisible. The first time it had happened, Natsumi hadn't even noticed until she had watched the following news reports that day. There she had been, cloaking herself in the middle of the street, on live television. And where she had been chased off by an angry mob for "causing" a car accident, too.

Like many metahumans before her, it had left Natsumi with more questions than answers. But thankfully, Aegis was already on the case. They promised her help; to handle the news reports and everything else while also extending a personal invitation to Natsumi to come to their metahuman complex on Alcatraz. It felt like coercion, yet Natsumi believed she didn't have any other choice but to accept their offer. She couldn't put her adopted family at risk by staying in San Francisco. The city's eyes were already upon her, even if she could disappear. The only thing Natsumi could do was run straight into the clutches of Aegis.

Putting on a brave face, Natsumi had left with Aegis agents in tow. This was for the better, she believed. She loved her family and would've rather preferred to stay, but this way they would be safe.

She'd be able to protect them. She'd be their own personal hero, this Natsumi swore.

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_{Location: Aegis Bus - San Francisco, California}

Issue #1: First Impressions

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_{Interaction(s): Linnie @mickilennial & Lina @Pirouette}

Previously: N/A

A quiet yet familiar song echoed through the Aegis bus speakers. The driver's choice of song hadn't been Natsumi's particular taste of music, but she didn't mind it. At the very least, the 80's-sounding music broke up the awkward silence that was being held by the bus's three passengers, two of which seemed to be absorbed off in their own little worlds.

For a moment, Natsumi had considered talking to them; to strike up a conversation and get to know some of her soon-to-be peers. Her mind had been alight with countless questions she wanted to ask them, with a new question to ask popping up every second in Natsumi's head. Where were they from? What was their ability? What were some of their favorite movies? Did they like pineapple on pizza? What did they like to do for fun?

So on and so forth.

As the boy with a white tuff of hair furrowed his brow, however, Natsumi decided to let off the brakes. Perhaps right now wasn't the best time to hit someone with a billion questions to answer. They seemed deep in thought, and Natsumi wanted to make a good first impression today. She hadn't wanted to chase anyone off with her chipper yet aggressive friendliness, though knowing herself that was bound to happen regardless. It wouldn't be the first time Natsumi had been told she had ambushed someone or that she was outright nosy, after all.

Turning her attention to the window, Natsumi decided to preoccupy herself with the sights instead, in turn leaving the other two to their own devices. San Francisco had plenty of amazing sights to see, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Ghirardelli Square or the ever-famous Lombard Street. She had already seen a number of such landmarks prior, having grown up in San Francisco, though somehow the city still seemed to wow Natsumi as if there was always something new to see everywhere she looked. Such was the City of Love; the Paris of the West–every corner always held something to surprise you, even for the locals.

When the Aegis bus pulled up to the courthouse, Natsumi turned her attention away from the window momentarily to see who they were picking up next. This time around, it had been another boy, one with a rather chic hairstyle to boot. An unimpressed huff was had as he waltzed to the back of the bus and took a seat in front of the Aegis guard in the back. Another one for the list of people that didn't feel interested like talking, unfortunately.

Returning her gaze to the window, Natsumi awaited their next stop. To her surprise, the bus was destined for the San Francisco International, the city's local airport. She immediately wondered who had to fly in upon seeing the sign, nearly leaping out of her seat in curiosity to lean against the other seat's window in anticipation.

Two passengers boarded the bus. The first, a red-headed girl off in her own world, and the second: a blonde wearing a striped white-and-blue tank top. The redhead took a seat near the white-tuff boy from before, while the blonde sat somewhere between Natsumi and the teen that took a seat in the back.

Much to Natsumi's disappointment, it continued to appear as if no one wanted to sit near her. Was her upbeat positivity already chasing people away? It certainly seemed that way.

Pulling forward in the pickup line, the bus made another stop. Again, a number of people boarded the bus, mostly men who had tired, exhausted expressions upon their faces. The jet lag must've been rough, Natsumi figured, as the group began to pick their seats, with a blonde girl taking a seat two rows directly behind Natsumi.

As the bus lurched forward to pick up the next set of passengers, Natsumi quickly turned in her seat and waved a quick and friendly hello to the blonde girl. Two seats back wasn't that far off from her, and although Natsumi could certainly feel a tense air radiating from the blonde as she eyeballed two of the male passengers onboard the bus, she refused to be deterred this time around and flashed a smile on top of it.

Unfortunately, Natsumi hadn't received much in kind. The blonde girl looked back in her direction, sighing, before going straight back to minding her own business.

Slumping back into her chair, Natsumi reassured herself while the bus moved onwards to pick up some more transfers waiting in the pick-up line. That could've went better, but it was at least a good start. There was always more time for interaction later on in the day. More time to meet and disc—wait a minute.

IS THAT A WALKING STATUE? A PERSON WITH BIRD WINGS?

Natsumi had practically locked on the two, watching both with great curiosity. Obviously, everyone onboard were all metahumans, otherwise they wouldn't be on this bus. Truth be told, however, she hadn't expected someone with literal bird wings, much less someone made of actual stone. Granted, Natsumi was probably not the type of person who should've been surprised. Her own body could turn reflective and disappear from plain sight, after all. But, just.... wow. They seemed, no, were cool.

So cool that Natsumi hadn't noticed that two more transfers had boarded the bus—a girl who appeared pulled straight from the 50's, along with another female that panickily hurried to put gloves on after freezing one of the metal seat backs.

By then, the bus moved on to its final stop at the airport. Two passengers boarded this time, both looking equally in rough shape. While the boy had taken a seat elsewhere on the bus, the girl took the seat directly behind Natsumi. Finally! Someone who didn't seem deterred by her overwhelming presence of POSITIVITY!

"Hey there," Natsumi said, tossing her a quick smile as she sat down. "Did you have a nice flight?"

The girl looked up from her half-finished sketch of the Golden Gate Bridge. She had seen it flying in and was trying to capture it from memory. "Hi." She replied meekly, "I suppose". She reached over and drew from her bag of trail mix. Cashew. She ate it, grabbing the bag and extending it to the other girl. "I've never flown before."

Grabbing a handful of the trail mix, Natsumi nodded a thank you back at the girl.

"Me neither. My family never travelled much, so all I've known is San Francisco." She grabbed one of the cashews and popped it into her mouth, eating the nut before continuing to speak. "Natsumi. Most people tend to call me Nat, though, so feel free to use that instead. What's your name?"

Lina withdrew her bag of snack mix to pluck another singular item. Raisin. She paused before eating it, her face souring slightly at the poor draw. "Lina." She placed the raisin into her mouth, chewing slowly as she brought her gaze back to Nat. "I live in Flagstaff. Well, lived." It was doubtful she'd return to the oppressive heat and sun.

"Too much sun for me." She muttered, shaking her head.

Natsumi wasn't certain how to reply. She hadn't known how sunny Flagstaff was, but Natsumi at least knew that San Francisco received a solid helping of sun. If Lina disliked the sun, then San Francisco might've not been the place to be.

"Well, I hope San Francisco isn't too sunny for you, Lina." She replied, before changing to a much more positive tone. "I'm certain the Aegis complex has plenty of shade if it is, though!"

Lina's gaze dropped as her mind shifted to the Aegis complex. What was it all going to be like? It was mandatory, so she didn't have a choice in the matter, but was this really going to be bring about a positive change in her life? In all their lives? "I hope so." Lina muttered in resignation to her thoughts and Nat's confidence.

Noticing Lina's gaze drop to the floor, Natsumi quickly tried to step back into the conversation. She wanted to cheer up the girl, who now had the look of uncertainty across her face. Yet before Natsumi could manage to say anything, however, she found herself cut off by a sudden, loud exclamation from one of the bus's many passengers.

"What. The. Fuck?!"

Turning her head to the front of the bus, Natsumi noticed an otter struggling to take a seat. Much like some of the bus's occupants, Natsumi was equally confused and enthralled by the animal. Was it someone's pet that she hadn't noticed before? Or was the otter a person, like a metahuman shapeshifter of sorts? Natsumi had absolutely no idea, but given that there was a man literally made of stone on the bus, she had been inclined to believe the latter. Things had already twisted themselves strange and outlandish, so a shapeshifting otter riding a bus wasn't as crazy as it might've once sounded to Natsumi.

Still, Natsumi felt bad for the animal, watching it give up trying to climb the seat and instead chose to hang onto the edge of the chair. Thankfully, for its sake, the remainder of the trip to the ferry hadn't been long.

Once the bus rolled to a stop outside the ferry wharf, Natsumi was quick to jump to her feet and disembark the bus. She stretched her limbs, having been stuck on the bus for much longer than most of its passengers, before looking around for Lina among the crowd. As Natsumi spotted Lina, however, an Aegis employee called her over to go on the first ride over to Alcatraz, forcing her to leave her new friend behind momentarily.

"I'll see you on the other side, Lina!" Natsumi called out, waving a quick farewell to the other girl.

Although the Aegis employees seemed worried that the boat might capsize under the weight of its passengers, the ride over to the island instead proved to be relatively smooth. For the ocean, the water was stiller than ever, and the boat chopped right through it on its way over to the island. Before Natsumi even knew it, she and all the others had arrived.

Once the ferry had made a second run back to the island, an Aegis employee led them through a series of security gates where their person and items were to be searched. Without much of a thought, Natsumi handed over the few belongings she had brought. Truthfully, Natsumi felt she didn't have anything to hide from them. Regardless of that belief, however, her electronics were among the items set to be temporarily confiscated by Aegis and given back at a later date once searched. Apparently, the memes on her phone from the family's group chat must've been dangerous or against protocol, Natsumi thought in jest.

Finishing up with security, Natsumi followed the rest of the group out to onto the stadium court. Spotting Lina once more, Natsumi swung by her side with a quick friendly wave as they were suddenly left in the care of the Aegis facility's director, Virgil Rowell, who gave a short speech and welcomed their group to the island.

Although Natsumi had found the warden's speech to be agreeable, evidently not everyone had thought the same as she had did. The stone man, who Natsumi had yet to catch their name, spoke up from the crowd, deliberately attempting to be a bit of a smart ass to Rowell in front of everyone else.

Well, this introduction was certainly awkward now, Natsumi thought as she watched the display from the sidelines.

the alphabet game. lol

Unicycle

Word association Game!

Door

How high can we count before a mod gets involved?

20

Ju-V

Of course the Smut Duchess herself, @Venus, had to claim the 69th post.