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Post by noodlerface on Dec 17, 2017 3:42:43 GMT
Johnny jumped, hearing his phone shatter. He took it out of his pocket gingerly, wincing. "Don't suppose it's one of your powers to fix broken screens, is it?" he asked weakly.
---
Nailah snorted. "He's infuriating. He could be doing more to help, but he chooses to stay cooped up in that metal hold of his. Even now, with everything Reboot has done...they're squaring up for something big, Molly, we all know it. He could be helping us with that. He could monitor the entire city and give us a damn clue about how to prepare for it!" She came to a stop, hands curling into fists. "I know you grew up together. I know that kind of relationship is hard to break, even with everything that's happened - it's hard to just stop caring about someone you've known your whole life. But even you have to see that we're scrambling in the dark here, and he doesn't lift a finger. What kind of person does that make him?"
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Post by Skidar on Dec 17, 2017 3:51:30 GMT
Molly sighed. "Its too much to ask of him. I know you don't want to hear it, but this place is the only place bearable for him anymore after the turn in the internet. He can't function off the island like we can. I don't know how he can block the cyber noise out here as well as he can. He's tried to describe it to me before, he said its like... a strobe light, with every color, and noise, like tinitus. Constant. I wish he could help. But I think it might physically hurt him to be overexposed to it all the time. I do feel bad for pressuring him some times. I want him to help, but I can't force his hand. If I did, I'd be just as bad a bully as any Reboot henchman." Molly waved to Piper. "I know he bothers you, so just leave him to me. I think you bug him too." she paused at the silence. "And not just because we're together. He never really 'did' relationships anyway."
Piper was fabricating snowballs out of the air and throwing them at the flying and looping forms of Angel and Kaiser while Angani shivered beside her, smiling up at them.
Elroy stifled an eye-roll. "Could be, though I'm still mad at you for ditching so perhaps we'll never know." he paused and looked towards Johnny's phone. Sheila was trying to call him but the phone kept glitching.
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Post by noodlerface on Dec 17, 2017 4:23:18 GMT
Nailah let it be. She understood Molly had reached the end of her tether in regards to that conversation, and it wouldn't serve any cause to prolong it. Better to let things be until they needed to change. And they would, for better or worse. She took Molly's hand, giving it a squeeze in silent apology before releasing it.
Kaiser made an artful somersault in the air as a snowball came flying towards his face. "Close! But you're no match for me!" he let out an evil cackle, circling in the air.
"Private," Nailah greeted Piper, watching the flyers darting around above. She narrowed her eyes, seeing the sweat running down Kaiser's face despite the cool breeze. "Don't overexert yourself, Schmidt," she called out. "You need to take a break."
Kaiser puffed a breath, turning in a lazy circle. His head was throbbing with a building headache. He'd been using his sonar without rest since he had awoken, and it was starting to wear him out. It was a fairly new power he was coming to grips with - and it made him feel like a toddler learning how to walk among giants. Understanding that a muscle took time to develop didn't make it any less frustrating he couldn't keep it up as easily as he could flying. Nonetheless he waved a hand. "S'fine," he replied airily. "I've barely warmed up!"
---
Johnny held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I went and got Molly, didn't I?" He put a hand to his chest, feigning a shot wound. "No faith in your friends, mate. I'd never abandon you to the devil!" Noticing Elroy's attention drifting, he held up his phone. He smiled easily, tapping at the answer button, before his smile fell into a frown. The screen wasn't registering his touch. He sighed noisily, holding the phone up exasperatedly. "You don't have a phone I could borrow, do you?"
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Post by Skidar on Dec 17, 2017 4:36:30 GMT
Elroy let the tension out of his shoulders and gave his hands a double clap and Sheila's face waved into view in the air between them, projected using Elroy's technopathy.
"Hello Sheila."
"Oh! Hi Elroy, is Johnny there?" Sheila smiled into the flickering screen.
Elroy grabbed Johnny's elbow and tugged him into the frame before backing up to sit in his office chair, clicking his pen and stewing quietly.
"Hi Johnny! You're never going to guess what I found under the Academy bridge!" Sheila laughed and ducked out of view before reappearing carying the gangly form of a giant, squirmy octopus. "Isn't he cuuuuute!"
Angani's eyes flashed rosy pink as he surveyed Kaiser. His heart rate was up and his head had the familiar pulse of a headache that he was familiar with when one strained their powers, something he'd come accustomed to dealing with when he worked with Emery. He coughed into his fist. "Babe, I'm freezing, can we go inside and warm up for a while?" he asked, hopefully that would convince Kaiser to rest without bruising his pride in front of his colleagues.
Molly looked up at the sky. "I think it might snow soon, we need to head back to base, it was nice seeing you all though."
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Post by noodlerface on Dec 17, 2017 7:22:20 GMT
Johnny's jaw dropped at the projection. He shot Elroy an incredulous look, before being caught up in Sheila's presence. "Hey gorgeous!" he waved happily, before noticing the bundle in her arms. His eyes grew wide. "Babe...I love him!" He tried to peered closer into the screen, lifting his hand as if he could reach through and pet him. "He's beautiful! We need to keep him." He spun around, arms outstretched. "Elroy! Look at my new son! What's his name, what's my boy's name?"
---
Kaiser halted his aerial meandering, and quickly dropped to his feet beside Angani. "Shit, hon, I'm so sorry," he stammered. "Yeah, of course, let's go in for a bit." He took Angani's hand in his own, making sure to press close to him. "We'll catch you later, Captain! It was great getting to see you again. And it was a pleasure to meet you, Piper." He gave a departing wave, before heading towards the cafeteria building. As they walked, he shot Angani a glance, smiling gently. "Thanks 'Gani. I know I was being stupid." He pressed a grateful kiss to the back of his gloved knuckles.
---
Nailah watched the couple walk off, tugging the collar of her jacket coat closer to her throat. The sky was darkening and it brought with it an icier breeze. "It's going to be cold tonight," she muttered, fighting off a shiver. "The quicker we get back to base, the happier I'll be."
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Post by Skidar on Dec 17, 2017 7:32:54 GMT
Sheila laughed and set the octopus back in the tank, peeling the suckers off her arm. "Not sure! I was gonna let you name him before we release him in the morning. Getting a little cold to go diving so hopefully he sticks around in the spring!" She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "I wanted to see if you had made the reservations for tonight so I know when to let Bobby out."
Molly sighed out and her skin glowed a faint orange, passing her warmth to Nailah's hand. "I'll keep us warm." she promised. "Lets go."
Angani smiled and hugged him close to his side. "You're getting so much stronger. I'm really impressed with you." He checked his watch. "I guess Angel's seminar is happening soon, then we can head back. Is it... alright if we walk back together? Unless you want to fly?"
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Post by noodlerface on Dec 17, 2017 8:10:32 GMT
Johnny let out a brokenhearted cry. "Don't jinx us like this! Ronnie better visit his father or he's going to be very sad, isn't he, Ronnie?" he cooed at the image of the octopus, reaching a hand to give the hologram a scritch. Hearing her query over his lovestruck baby noises, he paused, lifting his head. "Uh, yeah babe, of course," he laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Eight o'clock, at Le Sardine! Only the best for my bestest girl!" He blew a kiss at her, before shooting a horrified look at Elroy over his shoulder. He'd completely forgotten.
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Kaiser wrapped his free arm through Angani's, heart flooding with warmth. He let Angani direct him, his guidance familiar enough to him to allow the sonar a brief rest. He could already feel the headache subsiding. "I'd love to walk with you. One of these days I'm going to get buff enough that I can fly you around the city in my arms, bridal-style. But until then, I'll have to make do with walking right next to you." He sighed dreamily. "I can't wait to show you what we see, though."
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Post by Skidar on Dec 17, 2017 17:59:06 GMT
Angani laughed. "Sounds a little scary, being up so high without nothing between you and the ground." he squeezed his hand as they went inside and sat on one of the couches in the commons near the fire.
--
"Sounds great! I'll see you there!" Sheila patted away a curious tenticle that tried to grab her phone. "Ronnie says bye. I'll see you later. And bye Elroy!" the screen wavered and cut out. On the other side of the room Elroy looked over his screen.
"Someone's screwed." he sing-songed. "Your reservation didn't sound too convincing"
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Post by beffalumps on Dec 30, 2017 1:34:09 GMT
Nico huffed and listened to the crunch of his footsteps in the snow as he made his way down to the lab. His hands were stuffed in his jacket pockets, hiding the fact they were clenching and releasing anxiously. Word of the Reboot's latest move was already spreading. It felt like time was speeding up, and his grip on everything was spiraling out of control. He took a breath and pushed the thought out of his head. It was too late to change anything now. He had a job and he was doing it. And he was damn good at it. He rolled his shoulders and pushed the Greenhouse door open with his arm. "Hey," he purred, an edge of faux apology to his voice. "So I know I'm late but I got a really good excuse this time. You know that damn alarm clock didn't go off again. I'll bring it in and..." He smiled brightly up at the other two. "What'd I miss?"
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Post by Skidar on Dec 30, 2017 1:56:49 GMT
Elroy glanced over at him from the other side og him desk. "Wouldn't be Friday if you didn't stroll in an hour late." he smirked and nodded to Johnny. "Better go make sure you can get yourself a table for tonight." he gave a little spin in his chair. "And you missed nothing, some Commandos stopped by and then went on their way." something dark flicked across his face. He knew Nico knew that wasn't the whole story. He also figured the kid knew better to pry. He'd tell him more later. Or not. He hadn't decided. He stood up and crossed the room to the far side of the lab where the remains of their fourth melted microwave sat on a table in molten shambles. Technopaths and Lightning slingers had a terrible relationship with appliances, but especially microwaves. And having both under one roof they tended to replace one about every month. Elroy drummed his fingers on the warped metal and plastic. "So ignoring whatever excuse you've got from being late, I guess I should mention there's no class today, so we're grading papers." he peered out the window watching the sky for the campus security flyers. "Hard copy papers." he added.
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Post by noodlerface on Dec 30, 2017 2:11:18 GMT
Alliser tapped at his desk top with a pen, legs crossed and his chin resting upon his fist. He glared up at the wall mounted clock above. Fifteen minutes late, he shot at Kian. I thought you said you needed to speak to me about something urgent? It doesn't appear to be that important to you.
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Post by beffalumps on Dec 30, 2017 2:28:57 GMT
Nico lifted his arms and smirked. "Hey, I'm nothin' if not consistent, boss." He strolled over, grinning. He tilted his head in interest at the mention of the Commandos and waited for him to elaborate. Which he didn't. Typical. He knew he'd spill it eventually, but damn it was annoying when he was played the vague card. Pushing the news away, he turned to Johnny. "Ohhhh hot date with Sheila, ey Johnny? Yeah go get some! Ow!" He hauled himself up to sit on his desk and leaned back on the flat of his palms. "Soooo I rushed here for NOTHING then? I'm pretty sure, legally, if we don't have students, you can't make me work." He slouched back and laid down flat on his back. He let out a huff, draping his arm over his eyes. "So Big Brother's still out to get you then, huh? Should I have a talk with them? I'm very persuasive."
Kian lumbered through the halls, his usual unapproachable, angry expression plastered on his face. He scowled, hearing his brother's message. He pushed open the door and stormed into his office. "You've waited this long, you can't be patient for another fifteen minutes?" he snarled. He glared down at him for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Anyway. You should be pleased to know you won't have to wait much longer. It's happening soon."
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Post by Skidar on Dec 30, 2017 2:38:14 GMT
Elroy snorted a laugh. "Big brother couldn't get within a mile of me if I chose it." he yawned and sat on one of the stools. "And you still gotta help grade papers, Mister T.A." he whapped Nico's forehead with the manilla stack of files then started dividing them evenly between them. "Just gotta keep doing our thing." he set to work on his stack for a few minutes then perked seeing a flash of information in the area near his phone. He held up his hand and the phone zoomed to his palm at super speed, grazing the tips of Nico's spiky hair. he checked the message. "Well goody for them." he mumbled, scrolling through the schoolboard notification then groaning louder. "Noooo Noooooooo Ugh just shoot me!" he let his head thump on the counter. "I really hate the president of the schoolboard..." he growled. He sat back up. "He wants to 'hire me out' to the Commandos for 'light training.'" Elroy's thumbs were already forming a strongly worded response. "I'll probably regret sending that later." he snorted as he hit send and watched it shoot out of the room like a comet.
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Post by noodlerface on Dec 30, 2017 2:51:14 GMT
Johnny winced, rubbing at his forehead in anxiety. "Yeah, mate, only I haven't actually set that part up. Elroy, my bud, my man," he leaned across the desk, fluttering his eyes up at the technopath. "Do me a solid here and get us some decent seats at Le Sardine? Just, slot our names in the computer somewhere, no one'll notice," he waved a hand in dismissal. "I will do your paperwork for a week."
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Alliser tsked, straightening his posture as Kian swung the door open. He folded his arms together, brow furrowing. "Any later and it might have happened before you'd had a chance to warn me about it," he scoffed. "Are we clear on what the plan is?" Things were going to happen in quick succession, and he wanted to make sure they both knew their places in all of it.
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Post by beffalumps on Dec 30, 2017 2:55:41 GMT
Nico whined, rolling pathetically on his desk. He lay there for a few minutes, staring dully at the stack of folders. He heard Elroy's phone zip by his head and opened the top folder. "Check the lunch menu, see if they're havin' tater tots today." He rolled onto his back, holding the papers above his head as he skimmed through them. "Oooh damn, Le Sardine? Can I come? Make it three, ey El?" He tipped his head over the edge of the desk, his mouth lolling up. He let out a snort, seeing Elroy's face scrunched in frustration. "HA! Yeah you're real good at diplomacy, aren'cha Teach? I'm glad you're the one who's in charge of molding the innocent, impressionable minds of today's youth."
Kian scowled. "I'm clear on the plans. Are you?" he sneered.
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sometime after ten, hope you'll be up! also.... WILL PROFILE thatisall 
