“Geeze. That many disqualifications? What'd they do to have that happen?” Frankie mused out loud. Igor having since crawled down off of him and scurried about the floor of the bleachers as he grabbed treats that had fallen out of others bags. “Nah, I didn't actually do any betting. I'd say I'm not a gambling man but…well my string of magic is all about chance and science to an extent. Even when I know the odds I still push them. What about you? Did you place a bet?” He wanted to add, hopefully not with those Macleod twins, but didn't dare say that out loud while they were around. His attention snapped back to the field as the Hex Girls went after some California girl. Rough.
He leaned forward in his seat, elbows pressed into his knees as he watched the enemy team dance around their attacks. Battle hardened indeed. But in the end, they snagged their target. Blondie was toast. “Oof, I'd hate to be her right now.”
Location: Stands Skills: Chase
”Does your uncle usually drag you around to watch children beat each other up? That's a bit weird.” Chase offered up as he grabbed a few more bites himself. Watching as the fight unfurled before him, and jumping up and cheering when one of them finally got got. ”Whooooo! Get'er!” He called out before sitting back down and looking Ben up and down for a moment. ”You ask me who I am and don't even offer up your own name? What kind of bullshit is that? You want an answer offer up your own first. I even shared my snacks with you.”
He watched as the kid sunk further into his seat. ”And why you slouching so much? You trying to cuddle or something? I mean im flattered really, but we barely know each other. At least buy me a soda first.” Chase teased.
Location: Hall of Ancients, Strange Academy Grimore: Skills: N/A
Barty nodded towards his brother before turning his attention towards Vicky. ”First and foremost. Make sure when you go to acquire this gem that you're shielded in the same manner that you are now. Though given your…allergies, I doubt that you can afford to remove it from yourself anyways. As for the rest of your questions, well some of it is as if you weren't even listening. I'll give you the room number before we part from this, unless your plan was to leave immediately and seem exceptionally suspicious or worse get yourself in trouble with your school. I have no image of this item though my lovely brother could provide one with a simple illusion if you truly need to see what a ruby red gem looks like. As for who you have to go through? No one. As stated before the room is vacant, uninhabited, devoid of the presence of another, without an occupant, need I go on?”
The opening Dorian had made for his team wasn't enough to knock out the witch. Dammit. Wil was beginning to become more of a problem, Thelma was actually stepping into the fray now, and the speedster was trying to snag people one by one. Luckily for them they kept evading her just enough, but for how long? In a flash everything changed however, the enemy team ganged up on April and thanks to his boyfriends quick thinking (and April's reflexes) they were able to evade some of the damage. But she still got wrapped up in some sort of binding spell. He wanted to call out the next shots, to figure out the best plan of action, but he wasn't sure. Thelma had her hand placed on their prime target, that felt like a threat. A dare to even try to touch her. But going after Thelma alone was difficult, her wards felt almost impenetrable, and with Wil blocking shots they needed to go down as well.
Leah started them off strong, separating (or trying to) Thelma and Prudence. Unfortunately it didn't seem to panic out, perhaps they should focus on – Sabine called out as she infiltrated Thelma's mind. Yes! ”Luna, Hotshot, let's spread out focus. You two on Prudence, I'll get Thelma. Let's see which of the two matter most to Wil over there.” Dorian said with a wink towards Wil. They couldn't stop every attack, so either Pru goes down hard, or Thelma gets a walloping. Dorian twirled his sword once more, before twirling in the air with a vertical slash as he power coursed outwards and to Thelma. If this hit, it'd hit hard, more than what Pru had taken and it would luckily (and hopefully) drop all of Thelma's spells.
Dorian:
Health: 60
Focus: 80 > 75
Karma: 1
Notes:
Edge on Disrupt Person
Edge on Possession
Dorian has a reaction : Quick Phase
Action:
Uses Telekinetic Attack, costing 5 focus.
Rolls 4 + 1 + 1 = 11
4 + 1 + 1 = 11 + 2 (Ego) = 13, which does meet Thelma’s Melee defense of 10
Dorian's Logic middle die is 1, 6 × 2 + 2 = 14 x 2 = 28
Dorian deals 28 dmg to Thelma and Stuns her for 1 round.
Location: Hall of Ancients, Strange Academy Grimore: Skills: N/A
Barty didn't deign to respond to Vicky's comment about how long it had been, not even with a change of expression. What was a day to centuries? For all he cared a week could've passed by and it would still appear a drop in the sands of time he has lived. His expression did change, however, when Vicky began to have trouble sitting on her own seat. Amusement at the slight torment she was now facing. Serves her right for the snide comment when all i did was come in with a warm welcome. Nicky had picked up on Vicky's atrocious aura as well. Good. That made Barty all the more confident at what he was about to task her with. ”Darling everything I do is cute. We are throwing a party later on, win or lose, the students at Strange Academy know how to party. You will be in attendance, and don't worry we'll invite your little teammates too. But that isn't the favour, merely the pretense for how you'll be doing it. Back in that dingy hotel you lot are staying in, there is a red colored gem within a vacant room. I need you to fetch it for me before the party and hand it over to me when you arrive to it.”
”Am I missing anything? Or you believe that to be suffice enough?” Barty asked his twin within his mind.
Frankie nodded towards Connie, grateful that she was allowing him another seat. He sat down next to her, allowing Igor to scramble out from under his shirt and sit atop his lap, watching the fighting that ensued before them. “Thanks Connie. At least I still have a decent seat to the match.” Frankie said before Igor squeaked as his tiny fist pumped into the air cheering on the Hex Girls. Franklin ruffled the tuft of hair atop Igor's head, jostling his tiny goggles a bit. “What're the odds our illustrious team will defeat the Margaret Carter team? They were said to be in favor 20 to 1 but…” He watched as three students ganged up on Prudence. “They fight better than I expected given it was a last minute team put together if rumors were right.”
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
Location: Stands Skills: Chase
Squeezing his way past others on the bleachers was a somewhat tall teen, pallid skin with deep dark circles under his eyes. He has short dark hair and wore mostly black clothing, a short sleeved button up with a hoodie tossed over it unzipped. He snagged a bag of kettle corn from a nearby kid before vanishing into shadows. A few moments later from Ben Moss's shadow he arose, taking the seat next to him as he threw his arm around the kid and pulled him in, using the same hand to grab a bit of kettle corn and pop it into his mouth, eating atop Ben's head. ”Is this great or is this great?” He asked before releasing Ben and looking him up and down. ”Geeze, did you use a whole can of Axe spray in a single go? You know it's meant to last a while right?” He asked as he wrinkled his nose a little bit at the stench before moving closer again, this time facing towards the arena, both elbows firmly planted on his knees as he leaned forward and ate. He shook the bag towards Ben, a few pieces falling out and onto Ben's shoes. ”Want some? Best foods always free. Anyways what team are you rooting for? Personally I'm hoping short stack over there gets pummeled to the ground.” Chase said as he pointed in the direction of Percy.
Location: Hall of Ancients, Strange Academy Grimore: Skills: N/A
A collection of Simpletons and Jesters he says, yet he is the king of them all. Was all Barty could think as Croan decided to open his mouth. Your standards you say? I didn't think the bar was so low to join a Coven. Careful or I may just step right over them without your notice. He was about ready to tune the old man out when he finally said something of import. His eyes snapped over to Connie as she began to (over)react towards the news of their future exploits. Interesting, so the bookworm knew about what lay behind door number 12. He hated to admit it, but he was impressed. ”Then it seems half our Coven already knows what lies beyond the doorway, good. It'll help us in figuring out what's needed to ‘solve’ this Mystery. What's more fresh eyes may help us see things we may overlook.”
Barty's attention now fully locked onto Connie. His eyes expressed boredom, but he was clearly searching her for something. Staring into her own eyes before he finally spoke. ” ‘To allow yourself to become something else requires knowing yourself’. Excellent, you knowing yourself should prove useful in this endeavor then. Help you to stray away from the madness.” He punctuated his statement towards her with a glint of a smirk, as if he was daring her to argue otherwise. But first there was the last of his Coven he needed to meet. One who seemed eager to know of the contents behind the door and looking quite well if he was to judge, which he always did. ”Hm, what if I just called you mine instead? Much shorter than those other names. But I love the eagerness to learn. So I'll give you a snippet of information on it. Behind the door is said to be a cursed object. What exactly it's cursed with I wont say, I want to see what new eyes bring to this experiment.” Really he shouldn't of even mentioned the curse, he would've loved to see if either of them could figure it out before it was too late.
It appeared that Millicent wasted no time in trying to get information, or at the very least another thread to pull on. It made Sam feel almost helpless. He was a paranormal investigator, not a regular one. He didn't know how to do this, but he needed to try. For Millicent’s sake, for Renee's sake…for everyone's. He walked past where Constance was sitting, grabbing his plate off the table along with his drink before turning around and heading back towards her, a bee line straight into the seat before her. A part of him had wondered if he should've taken the seat next to her like a confessional at church. Which seemed less suspicious? Which would allow for more hushed conversations? He certainly didn't know.
Sam didn't say anything at first, letting the fact that he'd just sat before her settle in before he decided to scare her off fully. How did he start this conversation? What should he say? What shouldn't he? She could very well be the killer, she seemed the least bothered by it all but then again…Miguel was missing, and it wouldn't make sense for her to have killed Renee unless she truly wanted that prize. His brows furrowed, working hard to try and find an angle that didn't seem to exist yet. No blood on the carpet could be seen. No drag marks. Broken bones common with a bad fall and a blow to the head that could be attributed to the fall. Unless…was Tony covering for her? Maybe she did do it and he noticed something odd with the wound but…no.
Sam let out a sigh before he shoveled in a bite of his Crêpe. Wonderful of Gordan to have made it fresh, horrible that Sam had allowed it to get so cold already. ”Sorry for this morning…I can be a bit of a mess when there's a body around. Bad history you know? How you holding up?” Bad History? Jesus was that really the best he could come up with? Two murders in less than a week and ‘Bad History’ was all the mind could do to try and form a sentence.
If Skyler’s plan was to distract Percy by playing to his jealousy, then it was definitely succeeding. His brain glitched for a moment, as the flirting shifted from centering on him, to centering on both him and Dorian. The slight thrill of seeing his boyfriend jealous and protective vanished immediately. ”Absolutely the fuck not,” Percy growled. No one else was going to be getting with Dorian. He’d have to be dead first for that to happen. And even then, he’d be irritated if his boyfriend didn’t mourn, at least for a little while.
Before he could even consider how obvious a strategy this was to cloud his judgment, his situation shifted - and his body, already preparing a jump, reacted for him. Someone was screaming and charging at him, a blunt object held high. Dorian’s hand slipped from his grip, as Percy blinked in and out of existence, reappearing ten feet away as he finally identified what had been flying towards him. A mace.
Hmm. He could use a mace.
` Percy's shadow dancing was all.the warning he got. The rattle of chains followed close behind and he was caught: Thuy cackled in the distance as his flesh began to burn, trapped in her grasp.
He wasn’t going to dignify these assholes with a scream, as the chains surrounded him, gripping tightly. For a brief second, there was a flash of pain, the contest’s no killing rule echoing in his mind, before it dissipated, replaced with a cool splash of water. Just as it had surrounded Sabine, a sphere enveloped him and protected him, breaking almost immediately on contact with the chains, but leaving him unharmed. He made a mental note to ask Dorian later what April’s favorite coffee was and ensure she had it first thing in the morning the next day.
His eye caught Sabine. She was in trouble. But he wouldn’t be able to get to her in time. Someone else would have to help her. His teleports were more consistent than they had been, but their range was still limited.
So much happened in a blink, then again that's how these things always go. Skylar continued his attempt to goad him, distract them. It worked. Not enough to have their muscle memory slipping as Percy's reflexes kicked in, but enough to have him abandon him on the battlefield. But that was alright, it was about time Excelsior got serious. ”Perce I don't t'ink I gotta tell you t'is but don't let ‘im get to ya. ‘E's tryin' to catch you slippin’.” His eyes scanned the field quickly, trying to take in what he could and figure out a plan. He'd watched so many replays of the Young Avengers, so many fights over the years to know this moment would come and he'd be on some highlight reel. Focus.
Sabine was trapped, Thelma was still shielded, but aside from the others most of them held their pose. Why? They're preparing for something? Just as he was about to speak, Leah formed a dome of earth around two of their members. ”Yes Jotunn!” It gave him enough room for an idea. How well could they defend if they lost their biggest defense? Thelma wasn't his target anymore, and Skylar & Thuy were now sectioned off along with another of their heavy hitters. ”Hot Shot, Luna Minor, on me and follow my lead. Cascade if you can break out our lovely Psion Amnesia that would be appreciated. Perce, remember that technique I showed you last night in my room?”
Percy’s face flushed immediately. ”… Right now? In front of everyone? In front of our parents?”
Dorian's face flushed pink before he quickly tried to veer Percy in the right direction. ”If you see a weapon –”
”Oh, thank god,” Percy muttered, before nodding. The other technique Dorian had demonstrated. He hadn’t been exactly thrilled when his boyfriend snatched his book away from him, but the point had been made.
Percy took advantage of the distraction provided by his boyfriend rushing off, and he quickly moved back up to Ava, reaching for her mace and trying to snatch it away from her. His technique had flawless execution, doubtless from nights of practicing this very technique with his boyfriend, and he tore it from her grasp. It was a nice mace. He was going to have fun with it. And then, to ensure she couldn’t grab it back, he blinked ten feet away. ”Finder’s keepers,” he taunted with a smirk.
”On it!!” April confirmed, taking her eyes off of their front line for a second to look behind them. She winced. Sabine couldn’t protect herself in the ways others could, and being off by herself behind them all? It was no wonder it had left her exposed. Leah had locked down roughly a third of the opposing team, and they needed Sabine able to make a play for them to be able to take advantage of this. So rather than use Leah’s opening to strike, April threw a burst of ice at the trap. It wasn’t her most powerful attack, but she was already finding herself spread a little thin, and she wanted to keep her mental stamina up.
It wasn’t enough, though. The ice crashed into the telekinetic barrier, the energy rippling for a moment, but remaining intact. ”Fuck!” she hissed, regretting her choice immediately. Someone else was going to have to save Sabine.
Oh Good. Percy had figured it out. He didn't need that move telegraphed out otherwise it may be harder to pull off. Dorian began rushing past the rest, hoping Danni and Andy would follow to some degree. Sword out and to his side as if he was going to come up and attack her. Instead he halted in place and slashed his sword in the air, a wave of telekinetic energy bursting out towards Prudence. ” 폴터가이스트 블라스트?!” The wave slammed against the gothy witch dropping the barrier around Sabine. ”We got t'is Cascade don't worry!”
Percy:
Health: 30
Focus: 60
Karma: 2
Notes:
Edge on skill if it fails the first time.
Doesn't gain Trouble from being Demoralized
Percy has +1 to Logic Dmg Multiplier and ats +1 to all Logic checks minus attacks.
Percy has reactions : Blink, Blink Together, Time Blink
His Turn
Percy uses his reaction on Blink, to avoid the mace coming his way.
Percy then makes a disarm check against Ava to steal the mace. He chooses to use Melee for this instead of Agility, and rolls a 3 1 1. This has a chance of being a Fantastic Success. The Marvel die rolled a 1 so counts as a 6, meaning this is 3 + 6 + 1 = 10. Adding his melee score of 3, this is now a 13. PatientBean donated Inspiration, turning the right most 1 into a 6, and changing the score total from a 13 to an 18.
Ava rolls 5 4 3 = 12 + 2 = 14, so the grab succeeds. As it’s a Fantastic success, Percy holds onto it rather than knocking it out of her hand.
Percy then uses his movement to cast Blink again to move out of Ava’s melee range.
]April:
Health: 60
Focus: 20
Karma: 2
Notes -
As a reaction, April uses Elemental Sphere (Water) centered on Percy This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus down from 25 to 20. Additionally, the sphere takes all the incoming damage targeted at Percy, and as it exceeds 10 damage, the sphere immediately breaks, leaving Percy unharmed.
As an action, she then uses Elemental Burst (Ice) on the barrier surrounding Sabine. She rolls 4 3 2 = 9. She adds her agility modifier, +3, bringing the score up to 12. This goes up against Prudence’s logic defense, which is a 12, so April hits.
April’s Agility damage is the middle die value x 2 + 3, or 3 x 2 + 3 = 9 points of damage dealt to the telekinetic barrier.
Dorian:
Health: 60
Focus: 85 > 80
Karma: 1
Notes:
Edge on Disrupt Person
Edge on Possession
Dorian has a reaction : Quick Phase
Action:
Uses Telekinetic Attack, costing 5 focus.
Rolls 4 + 4 + 1 = 9
4 + 4 + 1 = 9 + 2 (Ego) = 13, which does meets Pru's Melee defense of 10
Location: Hall of Ancients, Strange Academy Grimore: Skills: N/A
Frankie's eyes lit up as the new student had begun to answer his questions about his creation process. No sooner had he started to speak than he had already begun to stop. Not supposed to talk about that? It appeared this sort of magic was a closed practice then. Interesting. He wouldn't be the only person with magical prowess to practice under secret arts, so it was understandable if not still greatly disappointing to hear. He was quick to change subjects too, introducing him to the various Golems instead. That would have to suffice. Now materials, that seemed a subject he could – sigh.Thanks Agatha for interrupting what was a wonderful conversation into the creation of being with your less than enthusiastic speech. By now Franklin had stood up, his hand going into his pocket while the other held onto his bag.
As soon as her speech ended, it seemed everyone was eager to meet their Covens. Frankie was already being summoned by Sariel from his, as she was always one to be on a schedule. As Pedrito began to say his goodbyes, Frankie couldn't help but pause for a moment. “What does Tocayo mean? Did he mishear my name? Ugh did I mumble again? See Igor this is why I cant make friends. Heads in the clouds and mouths full of rocks. Its fine maybe he and I can chat later and I'll repeat my name clearly for him. For now…she calls.” Frankie made his way over towards where all the others had already gathered. Great, he was the last one. That wouldn't go over well. He noticed all the other students holding a piece of paper with one left in Sariel's book. “So what exactly is out mystery? Or is finding out part of the process tomorrow?”
Sam sat there, half eating, half moving the food on his plate around from side to side. It wasn't that Gordon wasn't an amazing Chef, nor that the changed Breakfast plans left him wanting. But the vast emptiness of the room coupled with why was both sitting here having breakfast as well as why he was physically here in France in the first place, weighed heavily on him. He took another bite, shifting in his seat to get a better view of who else was in the room, while still ensuring nothing of note slipped out. No one yet had joined him. Maybe they were all getting ready? Maybe he should've gotten ready.
He let out a huff of air, blowing his messy bangs up before the flopped right back down. How the hell was he meant to do any of this? He wasn't like any of the people here, he wasn't exactly meant for politicking or social events that required asking questions in discreet manners so that the others wouldn't know. It was clear now both with how Tony had responded to him, as well as Juliane. He glanced back at her, staring for a moment in the event she'd meet his gaze, but before she could another walked into the room. At first Sam was excited, maybe he could talk to another contestant about all this for a moment, but when he saw it was Millicent, all the air deflated right out of him. They'd already talked and formulated a plan. What more could they say to each other? Minutes after?
It seemed that she felt the same. Having sat away from him, no doubt to create an area where she could speak to others privately so they felt less pressured to keep their secrets. Smart. Sam's fork hung off his lips, caught between his teeth as he sat there thinking about everything that had come to pass. Millicent with robberies, Miguel with his brother's death, Ralph and his former flair, how did any of this connect? Connections…wait, wasn't that why the other dancer was so upset? Because she had spent the night with Renee before the incident. But…their rooms were so close to each other how did…how did she end up at the bottom of the stairs?
Sam's seat clattered backwards with a screech as he quickly stood up from the table. Making his way back out of the room and into the hallway of doors. At first he just tried to scan the carpet, looking for any obvious drag marks or footprints, any change in the direction of hairs that would showcase movement. But this thing was so old and trampled on you couldn't gather any information from it at all. So he got lower, on his hands and knees searching between Rhiannon's room and Renee's. Then from there to the stair case, or as close as he was willing to get to it. No specks of blood or signs of distress either. Sam let out another sigh. ”None of this makes any sense…” He said to no one but himself as he began to stand up and make his way back into the breakfast area. Constance now having joined in it seemed.
Location: Hall of Ancients, Strange Academy Grimore: Skills: N/A
The games raged on, and as the stands began to fill, birds flew above their heads cawing and circling before perching above spotlights and rooftops. A cool breeze blew through the stands as a familiar young man began to make his way down the line and past other onlookers within the stands. He was dressed in a wool overcoat, a dark gray color to contrast against his stark white undershirt and bright blue sweater. He'd spied his prize already, all thanks to his wonderful brother, and made his way over to them. Walking past a pair of empty seats, he now stood before Gideon, tilting his sunglasses down slightly to look down at her own. A sweet scent being carried by the wind as he spoke to them. ”Youre in my seat. Move.” Without much of a fuss, the himbo got up and left.
To the other side of Victoria sat Franklin Stein, a student of Strange Academy who had already learned of the twins…behaviors. He quickly gathered his items without being asked as Barty turned to face him. “Already moving out of your way. Just wanted to keep the seat warm.” He replied as he scurried away to find another open spot. Barty smiled, turning to face the stage as he flicked his coat off the back of the seats so that he wasn't sitting on it. ”We meet again it would seem, and not for the last time. It's been a while since last we talked, and I think I finally know how to put that favour to use.” Barty didn’t even look at her, his eyes watching the fight before him with pure amusement.
☆ヽ(o´3`o)ﾉ☆ヽ(o´3`o)ﾉ☆ヽ(o´3`o)ﾉ☆
Max snatched the bag of kettle corn, opening it up as he began to eat what was clearly meant to be Sunshine's snacks. ”Thanks for the snack, I was missing one.” He said before sticking his tongue out at her and then shoveling a mouthful of kettlecorn in. Once he finished swallowing he continued. ”You didn't miss much, match has just begun and already it's a tough spot for both teams to be in. Oh, and I wouldn't have had to enchant your wardrobe if you wore something appropriate for today's event. Regardless, I was waiting for you guys before I put on a big show. Sooo.”
Max set the Kettlecorn bag aside, building up magic within both his hands before having it flow across the entirety of the stands and come to a crescendo behind the Hex Girls and in view of Excelsior. Silent fireworks bursting into the air in dazzling colors and sparkle that read ”Danni, Dorian, Sabine, April, Leah, Andy, Percy, Upward and Onward to Greater Glory! Excelsior! We're So Proud Of You All!” Max then turned to She-Hulk and the other parents in the stands with him as he belted out ”Let's show our kids some support! C'mon!”
Morose
Blizz
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