Othergrounds: The IC Edition (Act 8: The Strangest Days have gone By)

Lexy n' Faith
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Lexy scowled at Johnny as he approahed before pasting a smile on her face, as usual. Of all the dark thoughts in the girl's mind, most were directed at Johnny. She knew he killed Hunter- he practically labeled him traitor in front of her face. She looked at Reginald and mouthed the words, "Don't trust him," before looking back at Johnny. The fact he seemed nicer to Jake didn't change anything- he was still a cold-hearted jerk that killed friends. Then the temperature dropped. Lexy hugged herself in attempt to stay warm. "What's this?"

"Maybe the t-traitor?" Faith suggested, shivering, "I-if s-so, I c-could see if I c-could f-find the d-device that manages the s-school's weather." She had her jacket zipped up and was hopping from one foot to another. The fact she was in shorts didn't help. Nick she could only imagine his condition- shirtless in the cold. She tried distracting herself by listening in on Jake's and Johnny's conversation. So he saw the Traitor with a detonator and- wait. Detonator- somehow connected to the bombs by one thing. Technology.

A feeling of guilt washed over Faith. She could have sensed it- the bombs, the detonator- she could have prevented the explosion. She could have kept people from getting killed. "I-I could have prevented..." her voice faded her thoughts were echoed in the statement. Faith walked over and bent down next to Jake, briefly nodding a greeting at Johnny though she didn't know him. "Jake, I-I'm so sorry. I-If you need me to h-help in a-any way, I-I'll, um, try."

Faith noticed that Crystal was shivering, as well, in her sleeping state- her body working to naturally control its heat. She picked up the healer's glasses, thinkng of the possibility of them getting stepped on, and nervously spoke up again. "C-could w-we, um, g-go in now? I-It's really, um, c-cold."

Johnny, Jake, & Sylvia.

Celo wrote:

"I-I could have prevented..."

"Jake, I-I'm so sorry. I-If you need me to h-help in a-any way, I-I'll, um, try."

"A lil word of advice..." Johnny spoke to Faith the very second she finished. He hadn't a clue who this girl was, which was unfortunate. He refrained from calling her "Little girl" because he only calls girls he doesn't like that. That would just be rude.

"Faith." Jake spoke her name, since he knew that Johnny. "... And it's fine. You did all you could. What more could I ask from you...?"

Oh, so you're the guardian of the little girl? You must be doing one hell of a job if she fell into my hands... Johnny thought to himself as his gaze went from Jake to Faith. He wasn't going to bring up Livvy, because he didn't know how anyone would. "As I was saying, Faith; what's done is done. All you're going to do by spouting out things like 'I could have done X' is cause people to mull about what's over and done with..." However, I feel like I could have saved Gabe if I was just a bit faster.... He looked away for a moment. Then at the dead Carole, then back to Jake. "What you should be doing is focusing on is getting better, more vigilant...." He briefly stopped to point at the destroyed dorms, "Because that, is the first of many tragedies." Funny, this school could be called one big tragedy. That was all he had to say to Faith. He was surprisingly cordial, and less of an asshole, this time around. Watching Gabriela die was something that changed him deep down. In both a good way and bad way. However, the current subject was dropped when he felt the chill get... Colder. At this point, snow was falling from the sky and everything cold was icing over. Johnny shivered for a few moments before he started. He started to sense the Emotional-Presences in the area... Only to sense someone (Or at this point; thing) coming towards them at high speeds...

Sylvia also jumped into action once it gotten really cold. Because this isn't natural. She quickly flew high up into the air, above the group. It was a risky maneuver, but there's no way that anything could hit her unless they got the drop on her. She saw something that definitely shouldn't be there. There was seemingly a blizzard heading towards the group. Freezing everything in the area, turning it all into one big popsicle. Which was all she saw. The snow was just so thick that it was blinding. All she could guess was that it was just another Stasis escapee. Like Johnny; she quickly deduced that it was heading towards the group at high speeds. She quickly flew down and whispered into Johnny's ear what she saw.

After hearing what Sylvia had to say; Johnny jumped straight up, just like he was ready for a battle. Johnny's facial expression changed to an aggressive and - Like he was in the middle of a fight. The face people should be well familiar with if they've worked with him. All while his right eye glowing bright-red. There was obviously something unfriendly coming towards them. He pushed aside his longcoat a bit, revealing his new weapon's belt for the group to see. Johnny then grabbed on to his knife, pulling it out of the sheathe a little bit. He also transformed into his Emotional-Energy form. The usual. Lighting up with a white glow, while lines of various colors pulsed across his being from left to right. He was ready for one hell of a brawl, ready to fight to the death.... Then he pushed that knife back in it's holster and looked up. Right when he realized something...

He has zero stakes in this fight.

The fates of everyone here, save for Jake, was irrelevant to Johnny. So why should he risk his ass for these people when there are much more pressing threats at hand? Jake was in no emotional state to be fighting right now. The only logical thing to do here was cut and run. Whatever was coming would be here in a few minutes. They could outrun it before it comes. He couldn't find a reason to fight this battle. Johnny quickly reached down to firmly grab Jake by his arm. He then spoke to the group at large, "Hello there, children. As you may have noticed; there is something heading straight at us." He pointed in the direction of the monster. "It'll be here shortly, and I highly suggest that you all prepare for a fight... Or prepare for a massacre. Unfortunately, I will not be attending this battle. So, best to all of you."

In a burst of speed, all the Valos were gone. Leaving the group to fight whatever monster this school has created. They were heading for the Detention Center, and could be followed if someone really wanted to. Though, there were more pressing matters to worry about...


Drake, Charles, Victoria, Lily, & Lin.


In response to the cold, Drake shifted into his super-hot plasma form. His body exploded in a cold of bluish-green plasma that heavily resembled electricity. His body was so hot in this state that the ice around him started to melt and no more ice formed in his presence. This was both a way to keep everyone warm, and to arm up just in case something pops up - He'll boil it with plasma. "Eugh... I don't think that's the weather... Faith...." Drake spoke to Faith. Arms folded and ready to fight.

Both Charles and Victoria got closer to Drake. Not too close. They didn't want to get burned. They were just as ready as Drake for the coming battle. There was plenty of broken glass lying around for Charles to use. He made a field of broken glass shards around the Blackmores. He quickly melded them together to form a large amount of razor sharp glass shards... Whatever they'll do against the bad guys. Victoria had access to a wider range of "materials", to work with. She lifted up whatever rubble was hard and heavy with her telekinesis. She added it to the field that Charles had made.

Lily had tightly wrapped her arms around herself. Her outfit was doing little to keep her cold. She had sensed something heading towards them... It was powerful, likely stronger than any of the opponents that the group had fought thus far. "It is coming... Get ready." This time, there will be no cowering. No panicking. None of that. While she has no directly offensive abilities, she had something much better. The ability to charge people's powers to god-like levels. Which can easily turn the tide of a battle, and save the group - When used correctly that is. Lily's easily the most powerful Meta-human here that didn't even need to lift a finger in a fight. Lily then muttered a prayer in Spanish. Praying that nobody else will die.

On the other hand, Lin was watching Jake and Johnny until it started getting cold. Her outfit gave her little protection against the cold, but she can weather it. There was a way to sense what was coming, and she had it. Her Telepathy was getting stronger than she ever could hope for it to become. Why is not a question really. Lin could sense the telepathic presence in the distance... She decided to try and probe into it's mind. Which ended horribly. Very badly. Lin heavily jolted, letting out a pained hissing sound. She quickly put his hands on her head. Whatever's mind she just read, they were thinking quite a bit. Like a thousand thoughts a second. Thus causing Lin a telepathic overload once she tried digging into their mind. It would take her a few moments, but she managed to unfog a bit of information. "I can hear her thoughts... She's... Not in control of herself..." Lin blurts out, still holding her head in pain. The psychic overload was certainly something that caused her great agony in that short period of time. "We... Can solve this peacefully..." Lin needed a few moments to collect herself. Hopefully they won't attack until then.

At this point, a mighty blizzard engulfed the group. Blanketing the area with frigid snow and making it near impossible to see beyond a short distance. The group could hear a subtle ghostly wail if they were attentive enough. The group could also see a short girl walking around the blizzard like it was nothing.

Faith
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Faith wasn't expecting Johnny, a guy she didn't know, to try knocking some sense into her. Either way, it worked. Faith slowly nodded in response. "'Thank you," she managed to say without stammering or shivering. She didn't think Johnny was that bad based on first impressions. But then he and the other Valos suddenly ran off. Okay, that was a bit of a disappointment.

Faith slowly stepped in front of Nick, looking back to smile at him. "You're still hurt with your ribs, right? So this time I help you," she said without shivering, as Drake's form gave off heat. Some of the Eyes in the area approached her, as Faith ordered them to. According to Lin, the girl in charge wasn't in control of herself. Faith frowned, going through the systems in the Eyes, trying to figure out what to do. Bingo.

"We could try and use her power against her," she spoke up. "Th-the Eyes have system that puts out fires- a water system. What if we, um, tried to freeze her inside ice? It seems cold enough around her for water to freeze." she paused. "The only problem is how to get the Eyes close enough."

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Lexy
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Lexy was bent down, examining Crystal as everyone around her spoke. Of course Johnny ran off- he's that type of guy. It annoyed Lexy, but she kept a smile on her face. Crystal was still knocked out, cold. "I think, we should, like, try to get Crystal out of here right now. If push comes to shove, she couldn't run, right?"

Drake, Victoria, Charles, Lin, & Lily vs...

Spoiler:

The snow-storm intensified. There was a thick sheathe of snow on the ground already. Suddenly there were extremely heavy winds. Then massive chunks of ice began to twirl around the group at high speed. They varied in size, shape, and weight. However, a good amount of them were large enough to cause harm. There were a few giant blocks of ice - Large enough to crush someone. The larger chunks flew fast enough to be dangerous. Combined with the freezing cold, this was a dangerous situation for those. Escaping it would be nigh-impossible. Because by now, the ice storm has already covered a large amount of the school, and there were few places that weren't being pelted with snow. Hell, trying to move through it was a risk.

Alright, time to whip out that new technique... Drake thought to himself as the plasma around him thickened, and started glowing brighter. The super-heated nature of this form allows him great resistance against the cold - However, it would get cooled down after awhile. So, he was going to use this form to it's fullest potential. He floated a few feet off the ground, flying a few feet in the air. He went forward a few meters, away from the group. Most of the ice was melted before it could even hit him. Only turning to steam once they did. He stretched his hands straight out. Plasma wisps appeared him. He created a large dome of plasma, similar to the one he's been practicing in the Training Hall, around himself in all directions. The dome melted down a great deal of ice and heated up the cold around Drake. He had literally no plan here. Other than not dying. Drake knew that someone would have a plan soon, or an opportunity to fight the source of this will pop up soon... Though, Lin said that fighting it is unnecessary.

On the other hand, Victoria managed to take advantage of the massive ice twirling at them at high speeds. She used her telekinesis to catch some of the larger pieces, and put them around the group in a sort of shield. She added as much ice to the shield as she could. It blocked a good amount of the ice heading toward the group. This was the best she could do since the group was being bombarded like this. There was little chance for anyone else if she didn't do anything. Victoria would have taken Crystal in - But she knew that somebody else would handle that. She needs a plan - Which wasn't presenting itself to her.

The other three; Lily, Charles and Lin, had little in ways to defend against the ice storm, had to retreat into the dorms. Lily and Charles did their damn near hardest to drag Crystal from outside to inside the ruined dorms. It wasn't the best plan in the long term... They had literally no other options than to drag her out of it. However, the ice chunks were finding their way in. Lin was still recovering from the mental shock that she received - But still was in full control of herself. Enough to carry herself back in. All the thoughts she received were starting to get processed, faster and faster. She learned so much about this person... With information Lin received, she may have a way to stop this. Because her power level was far above the rest of the group. Fighting her may... End badly. Lin then spoke to her group, "We may be able to contain her... Yes, that's our best chance. The Detention center is our best chance - Building was made to last - And is quite durable to most, if not all, forms of damage."

In the distance, the figure approached slowly, the group having caught her attention. With every passing step, the storm got worse, and the environment colder. Her name?

The Wraith.