Academy City 2

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Katherine came to a sudden stop at the sound of the chime. She frowned and looked up, her ponytail swished around as she turned slightly and glanced up and down the corridor. "What's that?", she asked in a confused tone before hearing the nerves in Yuki's voice.

Summer slumped in the arms of the soldier as he cut off the power that was running through his suit of armour. She let out a little groan in response to the question, her head rolling forward like a rag doll so her chin was against the top of her chest.

Yuki glances around a bit nervously. "That's the first stage evacuation alert. We should head for the shelter..." she explains. "Usually a first stage isn't too serious, but if we go to second stage we'll want to be nearby."

Meanwhile, Summer simply slums in the soldier's arms, stunned by the powerful bolt of electricity, as her transformed body doesn't have quite all the augmentations she used to. Still, she's not completely helpless, and remains dimly aware of the situation.

*The good doctor will feel a tap on her shoulder.* Doctor Bellisarius? *If she turns to look she will find Raleigh standing right behind her.* Is this a good demonstration for you?

Raleigh finds himself standing behind a middle-aged woman in a white labcoat! In fact, she appears to be at home at the moment... a rather nicely appointed place, although not some high-class manor. She starts involuntarily, before reflexively dropping to the floor, rolling away and coming up in a wary crouch. Spying Raleigh, however, she pauses, and then blushes. "... I appear to have made a fool of myself. You would be the entity known as Raleigh, then?"

Giving a small nod, Ashley quickly proceeds to vanish and reappear above the park, casting out his senses for anything strange.

Ashley arrives at Academy City's central park! It's a rather nice one, lush with foilage and small ponds and streams, with various walking paths and sitting areas, and a rather elaborate central fountain.

He can see that the patrons of the park seem to be making their way out of it, as a chime sounds over speakers placed around the park. Several CTC armored vehicles are pulling up along the perimeter, with soldiers deploying emergency barricades. A pair of tanker trucks labelled "AFC2" are also pulling up, and some of the soldiers seem to be readying chemical weapons gear.

Something near the center of the park catches his eye, however. In one of the larger plazas, a rather garish yellow and violet-colored stage has been set up, with the banner "BIG BANG BAND" strung across it in crudely-painted letters. Several figures are scurrying about, apparently trying to round up some of the park's patrons... and growing increasingly frustrated that everyone's leaving!

Sam's eyes go wide as she sees the girl raising her wand at Alyssa. "A-Alyssa!!! Duck!!" She yells, coming back to her senses, at least for the moment, as she suddenly tries to leap up and tackle Alyssa out of the way!

Alyssa's eyes widen, and she turns back towards the girl in the cloak, her untrained reflexes far too slow to save her! Sam, however, manages to get her feet underneath her, and with a sudden leap tackles her friend to the ground, as the magical bolt of energy from the wand sizzles overhead! There's a shriek from somewhere behind them, but at least Alyssa's okay.

"I may have missed once, but you're both sitting targets now!" the girl cackles, maniacal glee in her face as she motions the wand towards Sam and Alyssa... when there's suddenly the hiss and sizzle of electrolasers in the air, several of the brilliant blue-white bolts striking the girl!

The Field Commander chuckles. "I thought that idea would appeal to you. If you show aptitude, you can be promoted to Field Operatives. Or perhaps even into the Cyborg Division... if the idea of having military hardware implanted into you dosent turn you off. But once you reach those positions... its less taking orders... more being given a mission, tools to accomplish said mission, and being set loose."

"Its that or being a security guard... standing around all day... or working in the Science and Technology division. That would depend on how intelligent you are... or expendable."

Meanwhile, the soldier cuts off the power as the schoolgirl spasms, bringing her around to look at her. "... Jeeze. Kid, you need to be more careful and not jump on people. Are you okay?" Comes the question from his suits speakers.

The young woman in the command van glowers at the field commander. It's fairly obvious that this group considers themselves a bunch of anti-authority rebels, perhaps anarchists, so they obviously don't seem keen on getting stuck in a position of taking orders and doing menial work. On the other hand, a future stuck as ditzy girls or zombies seems unappealing as well. "Well... that bit about being set loose to do things... yeah, I think I could like that..." she finally admits. "Better than any of the other options."

Meanwhile, the soldier finds the schoolgirl slumping against him, her head lolling against his shoulder. Apparently, the electrical charge was enough to stun her, if not knock her out completely!

The Tech gets to work... examining the larger programs and trying to put together what exactly was going on here...

Meanwhile, the Van's cutting tools switch out... going from laser to a high powered tool that begins teleporting chunks of the super compacted material away. The high resolution machine even leaves power and communication lines intact and uncut... as it bores into the side.

Examining the larger programs, the tech will find they do seem to be interconnected... in fact, all of the hardware in this bunker seems to be working to run one giant program. Many of the system requirements and process activity seems to support the idea of a giant simulation... but of what? There does seem to be an access port and operations to observe the simulation directly, although it apparently is capable of providing complete sensory immersion.

Meanwhile, the Van's teleportation tool seems incredibly effective, beaming away chunks of the polycomposite material effortlessly! It works around the integrated utility lines, until it finally strikes the material of an inner wall, offering ready access to the room beyond.

[Raleigh]

*From over the phone and the one standing next to the doc the answer is the same.* Aye, that is me. Sorry to startle you. I know one can never be too careful.

[KonokoHasano]

Ashley arrives at Academy City's central park! It's a rather nice one, lush with foilage and small ponds and streams, with various walking paths and sitting areas, and a rather elaborate central fountain.

He can see that the patrons of the park seem to be making their way out of it, as a chime sounds over speakers placed around the park. Several CTC armored vehicles are pulling up along the perimeter, with soldiers deploying emergency barricades. A pair of tanker trucks labelled "AFC2" are also pulling up, and some of the soldiers seem to be readying chemical weapons gear.

Something near the center of the park catches his eye, however. In one of the larger plazas, a rather garish yellow and violet-colored stage has been set up, with the banner "BIG BANG BAND" strung across it in crudely-painted letters. Several figures are scurrying about, apparently trying to round up some of the park's patrons... and growing increasingly frustrated that everyone's leaving!

Chuckling to himslef, Ashley raises his hand, causing paper to fly towards the scurrying figures to try and tie them up. "So this is what they had planned, huh?"

[Marky]

Alyssa's eyes widen, and she turns back towards the girl in the cloak, her untrained reflexes far too slow to save her! Sam, however, manages to get her feet underneath her, and with a sudden leap tackles her friend to the ground, as the magical bolt of energy from the wand sizzles overhead! There's a shriek from somewhere behind them, but at least Alyssa's okay.

"I may have missed once, but you're both sitting targets now!" the girl cackles, maniacal glee in her face as she motions the wand towards Sam and Alyssa... when there's suddenly the hiss and sizzle of electrolasers in the air, several of the brilliant blue-white bolts striking the girl!

Sam had a bit of relief for a moment as the magical bolt missed the two of them, but froze up once the girl cackle and aimed the wand at her and Alyssa. She flinches and clings to Alyssa as the hiss ans sizzle of electrolasers fill the air, watching in shock as the blue-white bolts strike the girl!

[Helel]

The dorm head smiels at Maris' cheerful response. "I'm here to try and help you girls," she points out, before glancing at Reya's response. "Oh! That's right... we haven't done a safety drill with you girls yet." She offers an embarassed smile. "They're normally conducted at the start of the school year, and it must have slipped my mind that because you two were relatively new you wouldn't have gone through one yet."

She pauses a moment, noting Reya's guarded expression, but then smiles sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Reya... I suppose you must feel I was endangering you by not telling you this information. The world outside of Academy City is a dangerous place, and you must be worried about both yourself and your sister. If you'd like I can show you the basics of the safety drill now. The shelter might get activated soon, anyways, if this trouble outside continues."

Reya nods, looking less guarded now.

"I'd... I'd appreciate that, if you could. If nothing else, as long as Maris knows where to go in case there's trouble, I'll be happy. I can take care of myself, especially if the city has a lot of the shelters around town..."

Maris gives Reya a funny look, but strangely remains silent.

[Azathoth]

The young woman in the command van glowers at the field commander. It's fairly obvious that this group considers themselves a bunch of anti-authority rebels, perhaps anarchists, so they obviously don't seem keen on getting stuck in a position of taking orders and doing menial work. On the other hand, a future stuck as ditzy girls or zombies seems unappealing as well. "Well... that bit about being set loose to do things... yeah, I think I could like that..." she finally admits. "Better than any of the other options."

Meanwhile, the soldier finds the schoolgirl slumping against him, her head lolling against his shoulder. Apparently, the electrical charge was enough to stun her, if not knock her out completely!

"Good... you'll find you made the right choice." He turns and looks to the others in the van. "Right... lets move to another location and continue the operation." He looks back to the young girl. "I think you will like this..."

Outside, the soldiers begin packing up the zombie girls into the van... giving them shots of tomapple to make them more manageable... and ditzy.

Meanwhile, the Tesla Soldier calls over a medic to look at the electrified girl! The medic glances at her, sighing, and injects her with a stabilizing agent mixed with neurorecuperating nano bots! Whoo! She soon begins feeling quite better... if still rather shaky on her feet. The soldier then comms back to the Field Commander... asking what he should do about the girl... His laser rifle dangling loosely in his grip.

Examining the larger programs, the tech will find they do seem to be interconnected... in fact, all of the hardware in this bunker seems to be working to run one giant program. Many of the system requirements and process activity seems to support the idea of a giant simulation... but of what? There does seem to be an access port and operations to observe the simulation directly, although it apparently is capable of providing complete sensory immersion.

Meanwhile, the Van's teleportation tool seems incredibly effective, beaming away chunks of the polycomposite material effortlessly! It works around the integrated utility lines, until it finally strikes the material of an inner wall, offering ready access to the room beyond.

The tech looks at the parameters... hmming. Then shrugs. She was Black Isles, after all... go big or stay home! With that thought, she sees about accessing the simulation to observe it directly!

Meanwhile, inside the van, the young girl sighs. "Alright gentlemen... you know what we are here for. Lets do it. Just keep the carnage to the predetermined parameters..." The van deploys its airlock dock... opening to reveal an advance team which sneaks into said room beyond!

[Harri-chan]

Summer starts to come around after being injected, her short school skirt bunched up around her thighs, black cotton panties peeking out as she was held. "Huh?", she moaned, lifting her head and peering around in confusion before being set back onto her feet. She stumbled backwards, and slumped against the side of the van, squinting at the man in the tesla armour, which made her realise she'd screwed up...

"Evacuation? Why do we need to evacuate?", asked Katherine, having that odd feeling again, of knowing far less than the younger girl infront of her. "Great.. they're gonna know I skipped practice", she winced. "Lead the way... ". Chewing her bottom lip, she started to follow Yuki. "First and second stages of... what?", she asked.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Summer starts to come around after being injected, her short school skirt bunched up around her thighs, black cotton panties peeking out as she was held. "Huh?", she moaned, lifting her head and peering around in confusion before being set back onto her feet. She stumbled backwards, and slumped against the side of the van, squinting at the man in the tesla armour, which made her realise she'd screwed up...

"Evacuation? Why do we need to evacuate?", asked Katherine, having that odd feeling again, of knowing far less than the younger girl infront of her. "Great.. they're gonna know I skipped practice", she winced. "Lead the way... ". Chewing her bottom lip, she started to follow Yuki. "First and second stages of... what?", she asked.

Summer can tell the guard is momentarily distracted, perhaps communicating with his superiors. She's also starting to feel a bit better, as she's been injected with some kind of restorative agent.

As she considers what to do, glowing letters appear in her vision: "Nanoanalysis of unidentified agents beginning. Emergency augmentations on standby."

Yuki glances at Katherine, looking confused for a moment... and making Katherine feel just that little bit more ignorant, as she apparently missed something everyone else took for granted. "Oh! The evacuation plans!" The other girl smiles sympathetically. "The people that run the city have made plans to make sure we'll be safe if something goes wrong. For a level 1 alert, there's some kind of localized disturbance... a riot, or some overpowered indivudal from the outside who's decided to go around transforming people, or something like that. The higher levels are more serious, though."

She leads Katherine through the school buildings and outside, where they can see more people starting to gather around a nondescript building set off to one side of the school grounds. Looking at it, Katherine can realize that it actually looks formidably armored.

*From over the phone and the one standing next to the doc the answer is the same.* Aye, that is me. Sorry to startle you. I know one can never be too careful.

The woman frowns at Raleigh a moment, pursing her lips as she thinks... and then stands up. "I have a feeling no one else would really stand to benefit from impersonating you," she says, before pausing to consider him curiously. "Although that makes me wonder what you might do if someone did. Although from our records... I have a feeling you might react in any number of ways."

The scientist offers a shrug. "Well. I'd say you've verified your identity to my satisfaction..." She walks over, and takes the phone. "Have the individual there do whatever is necessary to get the systems back online. I trust he will fulfill his obligations at a suitable time." She then turns to the Raleigh standing nearby. "While you're here, would you like some tea?" she offers. "My girls are at school right now, so I'm by myself for the moment."

Reya nods, looking less guarded now.

"I'd... I'd appreciate that, if you could. If nothing else, as long as Maris knows where to go in case there's trouble, I'll be happy. I can take care of myself, especially if the city has a lot of the shelters around town..."

Maris gives Reya a funny look, but strangely remains silent.

The dorm head smiles as Reya appears to relax more. "Well, let's be on our way, then, girls," she says, offering each her hand, before leading the way out of the dorm. "The closest shelter is located at the outskirts of the academy grounds. The authorities that run Academy City consider each of its academies to be vital resources, and prioritize the protection of our students. As such, each academy contains a neighbourhood shelter, which has enough capacity for the local populace. There are other shelters located in other community centres and parks, enough for the thousands of people that now live here in Academy City."

Her voice has taken on a lecturing tone as she walks briskly, and soon a squat structure comes visible as they round a corner. It appears nondescript, and they may not have even noticed it before, assuming it to be a utility building or something similar. But it now is apparent that it is in fact well armored, offering access to an underground shelter.

Sam had a bit of relief for a moment as the magical bolt missed the two of them, but froze up once the girl cackle and aimed the wand at her and Alyssa. She flinches and clings to Alyssa as the hiss ans sizzle of electrolasers fill the air, watching in shock as the blue-white bolts strike the girl!

"I... I can't go down... like this..." the girl in the cloak groans, staggering a step forwards -- but another barrage of electrolasers strikes her, and she crumples to the sidewalk unconscious!

Alyssa blinks, wide-eyed at the sight, before looking around. Sam will realize that an armored vehicle has pulled up nearby, with a squad of CTC soldiers in heavy body armor carrying electrolasers having disembarked. With the girl in the cloak down, they begin to advance, half of them setting up a perimeter while the others check on the innocent civilians still in the area. One of them approaches Sam and Alyssa. "Are you two okay?" he asks, bending down as he checks on them. Another appears to be busy trying to catch Jon, who's bouncing around cheerfully. "That was so exciting!" she shouts gleefully.

Something near the center of the park catches his eye, however. In one of the larger plazas, a rather garish yellow and violet-colored stage has been set up, with the banner "BIG BANG BAND" strung across it in crudely-painted letters. Several figures are scurrying about, apparently trying to round up some of the park's patrons... and growing increasingly frustrated that everyone's leaving!

Chuckling to himslef, Ashley raises his hand, causing paper to fly towards the scurrying figures to try and tie them up. "So this is what they had planned, huh?"[/quote]

"Argh!" What the hell?" Ashley's papers catch two of the figures... but their surprised shouts cause the others to realize that something's up! "Watch those papers! Some kinda paper wielder?" Some of the papers go up in a sudden burst of flame, as flames wrap around one of the figures. "I'll take care of 'em... find the freak who's meddling with our plan!"

One of the other figures spots Ashley lurking amongst the trees! "Hey! You there!" He frowns, realizing that Ashley isn't hurrying away like the other civilians of Academy City are, and lifts an assault rifle. "You get down from there right now and come over here. I got... a little something for you to try..." he says with a smirk.

"Good... you'll find you made the right choice." He turns and looks to the others in the van. "Right... lets move to another location and continue the operation." He looks back to the young girl. "I think you will like this..."

Outside, the soldiers begin packing up the zombie girls into the van... giving them shots of tomapple to make them more manageable... and ditzy.

Meanwhile, the Tesla Soldier calls over a medic to look at the electrified girl! The medic glances at her, sighing, and injects her with a stabilizing agent mixed with neurorecuperating nano bots! Whoo! She soon begins feeling quite better... if still rather shaky on her feet. The soldier then comms back to the Field Commander... asking what he should do about the girl... His laser rifle dangling loosely in his grip.

The girl in the van mutters, still apparently not entirely happy with the situation she's ended up in... but resigned to the fact that she doesn't have any other options. The zombie girls lurch awkwardly to the van as the other soldiers guide them, the tomapple doses making them ditzy zombies!

The other girl seems to still be dazed from the encounter, although the nanobots get to work, although they seem to be having some difficulty. The girls' body seems to differ from an ordinary schoolgirl's in a few ways... and a faster-than-expected failure rate seems to be occurring in the nanobots.

The tech looks at the parameters... hmming. Then shrugs. She was Black Isles, after all... go big or stay home! With that thought, she sees about accessing the simulation to observe it directly!

Meanwhile, inside the van, the young girl sighs. "Alright gentlemen... you know what we are here for. Lets do it. Just keep the carnage to the predetermined parameters..." The van deploys its airlock dock... opening to reveal an advance team which sneaks into said room beyond!

The tech hooks herself up to the simulation, using the available access port! There's a moment's disorientation, as her awareness of the bunker fades away while her senses are replaced by the synthetic ones of the simulation -- and then her awareness of her surroundings returns! She finds herself... standing on a sunny street, in Academy City. Several bystanders walk by, ignoring her.

Meanwhile, the advance team disembarks from their transport, and breaks into the room beyond! They find themselves in a rather clean and tidy laboratory, with the label "Memetics Research" above the door. Several computers are running in standby here, and a whiteboard has been filled with equations and notes discussing "propagation rates" and "rates of mutation". There's a door in the far wall, apparently offering access to the hallway.

[Harri-chan]

Katherine looked around nervously as they walked out of the buildings. She'd used her prior knowledge of school, and worked so hard to make herself so popular amongst students and teachers... but the cheerleading captain skipping practice to hang out with a younger girl? That wouldn't look good. The fact she was in her bright yellow uniform meant she couldn't even try and claim she was sick and on her way home. She kept rather quiet, following Yuki towards the armored building.

Summer lifted a hand to rub at her eyes as the glowing spots appeared... but she realised they were forming into letters, "Woah... ", she muttered, staring ahead as she read the message. "Damn... where's Katherine when you need her?". The words meant little to the teenager supersoldier, but she could definitely feel she was doing better. Her blue eyes lingered on the guard's weapon for a moment.

[Marky]

"I... I can't go down... like this..." the girl in the cloak groans, staggering a step forwards -- but another barrage of electrolasers strikes her, and she crumples to the sidewalk unconscious!

Alyssa blinks, wide-eyed at the sight, before looking around. Sam will realize that an armored vehicle has pulled up nearby, with a squad of CTC soldiers in heavy body armor carrying electrolasers having disembarked. With the girl in the cloak down, they begin to advance, half of them setting up a perimeter while the others check on the innocent civilians still in the area. One of them approaches Sam and Alyssa. "Are you two okay?" he asks, bending down as he checks on them. Another appears to be busy trying to catch Jon, who's bouncing around cheerfully. "That was so exciting!" she shouts gleefully.

Sam slowly nods a little, glancing over to the girl in the cloak for a moment, before slowly getting up to her knees. "I-I think so. She hit me with...some kind of beam...but I think I'm okay." She then quickly looks over to Alyssa. "Are you okay, Alyssa?"

[KonokoHasano]

"Argh!" What the hell?" Ashley's papers catch two of the figures... but their surprised shouts cause the others to realize that something's up! "Watch those papers! Some kinda paper wielder?" Some of the papers go up in a sudden burst of flame, as flames wrap around one of the figures. "I'll take care of 'em... find the freak who's meddling with our plan!"

One of the other figures spots Ashley lurking amongst the trees! "Hey! You there!" He frowns, realizing that Ashley isn't hurrying away like the other civilians of Academy City are, and lifts an assault rifle. "You get down from there right now and come over here. I got... a little something for you to try..." he says with a smirk.

Ashley hums at that. While some of the paper did burst into flames, most of it continued to remain flame proof due to his powers. His eye gave a slight twitch at hearing the word 'freak', and in response, the paper that was swirling around formed itself into what looked like a large, deadly tiger and leaped at the person who said it.

His attention was then brought to the person calling out to him with a gun. Earlier, he had figured that what was going to happen would be a rather harmless, but large, prank of sorts. Though now that he's seen weaponry and someone willing to threaten someone with a gun... well, he wasn't too happy.

His lips curled into a smirk of his own as his yellow eyes glowed eerily within the slight shadows of the tree. "Alright, I'll come on down." Within a split-second, he appeared crouching in front of him, a sword made of paper in hand. The rifle held by the man proceeded to break apart into pieces.

[Raleigh]

*With the doctor.* Oh yes please. I do love tea. Depends on how well they do at playing me I suppose. One of the likely ones though involves some violence and introducing them to how my kind sees things. Always fun to watch someone's mind shatter with information overload. *The version of Raleigh that had been on the phone with the doctor turned to the people in the room.* So, I suppose since I'm talking with the doc and she is watching me I can go for now yes?

[Azathoth]

The girl in the van mutters, still apparently not entirely happy with the situation she's ended up in... but resigned to the fact that she doesn't have any other options. The zombie girls lurch awkwardly to the van as the other soldiers guide them, the tomapple doses making them ditzy zombies!

The other girl seems to still be dazed from the encounter, although the nanobots get to work, although they seem to be having some difficulty. The girls' body seems to differ from an ordinary schoolgirl's in a few ways... and a faster-than-expected failure rate seems to be occurring in the nanobots.

The commander nods. "Right... we will get you packed out of here and continue with the mission. Hold on a moment." He heads outside to deal with the schoolgirl situation.

Summer starts to come around after being injected, her short school skirt bunched up around her thighs, black cotton panties peeking out as she was held. "Huh?", she moaned, lifting her head and peering around in confusion before being set back onto her feet. She stumbled backwards, and slumped against the side of the van, squinting at the man in the tesla armour, which made her realise she'd screwed up...

The soldier looks around a bit. "Your lucky you werent fried, kid... just what-" He cuts off as the van door Summer is leaning on slides open, and a taller man in larger armor emerges from the darkness within to stare down at her... before looking to the soldier. "Whats the holdup here?" The soldier stands up straight. "Sir! I was just going to try to find that out, sir!" The taller man shakes his head. "Go and finish the packing up. I'll deal with this..." The soldier nods and hurries away, as the Field Commander goes back to looking at Summer. "Alright, young lady... start explaining."

The tech hooks herself up to the simulation, using the available access port! There's a moment's disorientation, as her awareness of the bunker fades away while her senses are replaced by the synthetic ones of the simulation -- and then her awareness of her surroundings returns! She finds herself... standing on a sunny street, in Academy City. Several bystanders walk by, ignoring her.

Meanwhile, the advance team disembarks from their transport, and breaks into the room beyond! They find themselves in a rather clean and tidy laboratory, with the label "Memetics Research" above the door. Several computers are running in standby here, and a whiteboard has been filled with equations and notes discussing "propagation rates" and "rates of mutation". There's a door in the far wall, apparently offering access to the hallway.

The tech blinks, looking around. "... how odd." She decided to explore a bit and see whats going on here... She goes to flag down a passerby! "Excuse me, miss... might I have a moment of your time?"

Meanwhile, the advance team opens the far door! As the reserve team secures the room. The group begins deploying equipment in the laboratory. Hackers and techs setting down at the computers, other scientists sitting at portable stations taken from within the van. They begin deploying masking technology to confuse any security systems into believing they were, in fact, not there.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Katherine looked around nervously as they walked out of the buildings. She'd used her prior knowledge of school, and worked so hard to make herself so popular amongst students and teachers... but the cheerleading captain skipping practice to hang out with a younger girl? That wouldn't look good. The fact she was in her bright yellow uniform meant she couldn't even try and claim she was sick and on her way home. She kept rather quiet, following Yuki towards the armored building.

Summer lifted a hand to rub at her eyes as the glowing spots appeared... but she realised they were forming into letters, "Woah... ", she muttered, staring ahead as she read the message. "Damn... where's Katherine when you need her?". The words meant little to the teenager supersoldier, but she could definitely feel she was doing better. Her blue eyes lingered on the guard's weapon for a moment.

As Katherine walks with Yuki towards the bunker, she can see some of the school's staff accessing the hatchway, and motioning for the people gathered around to start entering in an orderly fashion. There's no sign of her coach and the cheerleading team yet... but after a moment, she can catch a flash of yellow, as some of them start coming around the corner of the school from the practice yard. Even at this distance, she can spot the coach seeing her, and frowning momentarily.

Meanwhile, Summer can feel a gentle warmth in her body, as the nanomachines go to work. However, even as she eyes the guard's weapon, the door to the van opens up -- and an even larger figure in powered armor addresses the guard! He sends the guard away, before turning his attention to Summer directly. "Alright, young lady... start explaining," he says.

Sam slowly nods a little, glancing over to the girl in the cloak for a moment, before slowly getting up to her knees. "I-I think so. She hit me with...some kind of beam...but I think I'm okay." She then quickly looks over to Alyssa. "Are you okay, Alyssa?"

"I'll be okay," Alyssa says, getting somewhat shakily to her feet and dusting her clothes off. "But... but what about Jon?" she asks, her eyes widening as she turns about to look at the somewhat clueless girl in the care of the other soldier.

"Is she with you?" the soldier near Sam and Alyssa asks, motioning to the other, who glances up, and then gently ushers Jon over to the pair. Alyssa pauses, and then nods, tears in her eyes. "I... I think so..." she stammers, causing the two soldiers to glance at each other in confusion, and then at Sam, apparently hoping for an explanation.

*With the doctor.* Oh yes please. I do love tea. Depends on how well they do at playing me I suppose. One of the likely ones though involves some violence and introducing them to how my kind sees things. Always fun to watch someone's mind shatter with information overload. *The version of Raleigh that had been on the phone with the doctor turned to the people in the room.* So, I suppose since I'm talking with the doc and she is watching me I can go for now yes?

The doctor offers a faint smile, and motions for Raleigh to follow her as she walks to her kitchen. "I apologize if the place seems a bit small... and cluttered..." she says, clearing away a stack of random papers lying strewn across the table. "You never quite know when inspiration may hit." She puts on some water to boil.

Meanwhile, the guards and the technicians in the facility with Raleigh turn to look at him. "As I recall, the offer was that you would help restore our security systems, once your identity had been confirmed," the guard points out. "Since the doctor seems satisfied with your credentials... please do so now."

Ashley hums at that. While some of the paper did burst into flames, most of it continued to remain flame proof due to his powers. His eye gave a slight twitch at hearing the word 'freak', and in response, the paper that was swirling around formed itself into what looked like a large, deadly tiger and leaped at the person who said it.

His attention was then brought to the person calling out to him with a gun. Earlier, he had figured that what was going to happen would be a rather harmless, but large, prank of sorts. Though now that he's seen weaponry and someone willing to threaten someone with a gun... well, he wasn't too happy.

His lips curled into a smirk of his own as his yellow eyes glowed eerily within the slight shadows of the tree. "Alright, I'll come on down." Within a split-second, he appeared crouching in front of him, a sword made of paper in hand. The rifle held by the man proceeded to break apart into pieces.

The eyes of the man controlling the flames widen, as he realizes that most of the papers are resistant to his flames, and that they've reshaped themselves into a giant tiger to leap at him! He reacts quickly however, reaching in his coat to throw something at the attacking tiger -- a grenade the detonates at point blank range into a shower of intensely hot white phosphorous, a billowing cloud of smoke engulfing the area!

Meanwhile, the man confronting Ashley blinks in shock as his gun is sliced apart with the paper sword... and immediately hurls a vial containing some kind of a violet-colored liquid at him!

The commander nods. "Right... we will get you packed out of here and continue with the mission. Hold on a moment." He heads outside to deal with the schoolgirl situation.

The soldier looks around a bit. "Your lucky you werent fried, kid... just what-" He cuts off as the van door Summer is leaning on slides open, and a taller man in larger armor emerges from the darkness within to stare down at her... before looking to the soldier. "Whats the holdup here?" The soldier stands up straight. "Sir! I was just going to try to find that out, sir!" The taller man shakes his head. "Go and finish the packing up. I'll deal with this..." The soldier nods and hurries away, as the Field Commander goes back to looking at Summer. "Alright, young lady... start explaining."

The prisoner simple grumbles and mutters to herself, although he glances curiously at the door as the Field Commander steps outside, to find Summer recovering from her jolt.

The tech blinks, looking around. "... how odd." She decided to explore a bit and see whats going on here... She goes to flag down a passerby! "Excuse me, miss... might I have a moment of your time?"

The tech goes to flag down a passing businessman, who simply walks past her as if ignoring her, followed by a pair of schoolgirls giggling about a boy in their class! In fact, she can't seem to get anyone's attention -- which is somewhat creepy, as everything else about the city seems profoundly ordinary. In fact, it might seem slightly disturbing just how boring and mundane it seems -- an ordinary, technological city, with no ditzes, or bimbos, or zombies, or ... well, anything Muffin-y.

Meanwhile, the advance team opens the far door! As the reserve team secures the room. The group begins deploying equipment in the laboratory. Hackers and techs setting down at the computers, other scientists sitting at portable stations taken from within the van. They begin deploying masking technology to confuse any security systems into believing they were, in fact, not there.

The advance team opens the door cautiously, and can catch a glimpse of the back of a young woman in a uniform, who had just walked past. Beyond the door is a long hallway, curving slightly to the opposite side. It's illuminated by panels set into the ceiling, but looks fairly plain, with other doorways visible along its length.

Meanwhile, as the techs and scientists begin setting up shop, one of the computers a tech sits at lights up with a swirling, almost hypnotic display!

[KonokoHasano]

The eyes of the man controlling the flames widen, as he realizes that most of the papers are resistant to his flames, and that they've reshaped themselves into a giant tiger to leap at him! He reacts quickly however, reaching in his coat to throw something at the attacking tiger -- a grenade the detonates at point blank range into a shower of intensely hot white phosphorous, a billowing cloud of smoke engulfing the area!

Meanwhile, the man confronting Ashley blinks in shock as his gun is sliced apart with the paper sword... and immediately hurls a vial containing some kind of a violet-colored liquid at him!

The paper tiger is blown apart by the grenade. However, some of the paper attempts to bind the man.

Ashley's paper sword shifts as he lashes out, the now paper whip wraps around the tossed vial. With a small action, Ashley then tosses the vial back at the man.