The Timeline
- When We First Came Together happens (pre-school). And some strange resonances (e.g., Troll encounter, Kiln recognized tech of his time, Mette recognized as warning signs, Joe remembers it as if in a dream / deja vu). So in part we get along well enough, in part there seem to be connections, in part AEGIS nudges us via Alex.
- Coming into class the first day of Sophomore year, dealing with challenges, flashbacks, character bits, talking with the Headmaster.
- Issue 2, jump forward to mid-late September. A few weeks. We know how to navigate through school.
Week 3
Mid-morning.
We are all strapped to an infernal machine, hanging by arms, great shadowy open space, vague earth-robot-like nodules on the walls, pulsing, dark. Cave-like, though a constructed building, hanging …
(Not really like this.)
- Joe feels weak, shaky, not at full potential.
- 37’s cybernetics have been numbed, magnetic couple lockdown.
- Kiln feels hazy and disoriented.
- Mette strapped in, tools are in a pile on the catwalks below us.
- Sync feels mentally woozy. Unsure what time it is.
Sgt SURGE: Bwah-ha-ha! Failed to stop me! I will drain your powers to reach critical mass to gain the power of every student in this class! You have utterly failed! You are absolute failures!
He’s playing villainous SURGE taking over the school. This assignment will be worth 1/3 of grade for this course this semester.
Team pool - 3!
Sync is leading - has infl - +1
Same goal? Grade - +1
Mistrust of Sync? - No
Mistrust of Team? - No, not even Alex who gets paid to.
Ill Prepared / Off Balance - No
5 Team!
Mette is watching. Hmmm, serious grade.
Kiln - mock battle instruction. Random heckling. Mr SURGE it’s a festival day today celebrating the birth of Daga, it’s wrong for me to fight today!
37 is watching to observe SURGE.
Gets him talking about his plan. You’re going to take everyone’s powers? Even Chris’ pact with Hell?
Before We Get Started - Savior -> 8!
Hold 2
Joe - You crazy clanking machine! Let me down from here or I’ll tear your arms off and use em for a back scratcher. Get over here!
You’ve Got A Head You Don’t Need - Provoke with Danger -> 7!
Errs, giving a critical opportunity (for Sync)
Sync tries to swing over to hit the magnetic locks on Alex’s cybernetics, giving him the opportunity.
Direct Engage - Danger -> 9!
37 twists so that Sync gets shot, grabbing the device between his feet and whips it at SURGE.
- Create opportunity for allies. (free!)
- Impress the Opposition.
- SURGE shouts NOOOOOO! and starts magnetically dragging pieces down at us.
Joe was going to attack with HIS feet, and now Sync is doing it, and it’s all his fault.
But it seems to have caused a surge fault in the system, and everyone’s cuffs drop. (We PASS!)
Sync drops to the floor flat on his back - Take a Powerful Blow. -> -4 … thumbs up in the air. Potential!
Mette drops at her gear, grabs it.
Kiln has an opening. Go after SURGE, go for the door, or warn (or Defend) Joe from the stuff crashing down (so he can get out)?
Defend (shield) Joe from the debris.
Defend -> 9!
Exposed to Danger
Influence over Joe.
Take a Powerful Bow -> 6! No harm and Potential!
Mette - SURGE is using Earth (Seismic Prime) and Magnetic (Magmatador) based stuff (the power sets he was allowed to keep). Like industrial loaders and movers. Except he’s a robot which is weird, but …
Want to overbalance him, gravitics.
Direct Engage -> 8!
Create an opportunity for allies.
SURGE focuses to do the grab magnetically something to whip at her.
(Joe cannot Defend her)
Take a Powerful Blow -> 5! no harm, + Potential! (Deflect it gravitically)
SURGE lands on his back.
Klaxons.
Lights come up.
10 points to Gryffindor!
Jillian - caught in the middle of figuring out how to take a selfie filtered properly in the dim lights.
SURGE - (virtual clipboard) very good team … “Surge Suppressors”? Really? You’re not freshmen. Bonus points for defeating supervillain … five moves … you will be happy with that score.
Bonus points to Synchronous exploiting the undocumented weakness of my machine. I assume you knew it would do that. [infl over SURGE, but tries to shift +Superior, -Danger … rejects? 9! cancel their infl and take +1 fwd over him]
Gives eval of the team.
Mette - jogs memory?
Remember Someone -> 8!
SURGE has the Martyr slot. He is why there are no AIs in the future. He took them, and himself, out, as a means to give humanity a chance to escape.
Condition: Guilty - treated him as disliked teacher, only to find he’s someone’s so special.
Collapses back. Joe catches.
You okay.
I don’t know, I just remembered something.
Good?
Team 4 you are up tomorrow. Chop-chop.
Get out of uniforms quickly as possible. At least the Cliques, since those uniform are sized too large or too small and smell like sweat socks.
Lunch time!
Mette waits to see who comes out of the locker rooms.
Who is it? Joe. First, Joe can get changed quickly and he knows Mette gets changed quickly …
Evan comes out 10 seconds earlier, smiled winningly, went by, floated around the corner … and Mette snaps out of it just nearly in time …
You okay, you were shaky in there.
I’m fine! I mean, I’m fine now …
Sync … takes his time. He boards at the school, and does *not go home for the weekends. Joe looks awkward. Mette has the little brow furrow.
Joe mentions the kick thing to Sync. Glad I could set it up for you.
Yeah, sure, thanks.
Vulnerability - shift Mundane down, Danger up.
Alex and Kiln walk up (and slow down). Tension!
Kiln - Hey, can’t wait for lunch, they have “spah-getty” – but it sounds good, and Chris was talking about pasta so now they’re excited.
Alex - quietly tagging along. Taking mental notes.
The scene of … us at lunch.
Roomy indoor cafeteria. The lunch ladies have seen everything. Trays are oversized.
We “have” a table. Everyone in SURGE’s class are eyeing each other. Cool kids are looking around to see who’s looking at them. Uncool kids are looking down (like Mette).
Couple of people swing by and say stuff –
- Sequoia shows up right behind Mette, big smile, big waves, talking about the stuff Mette was involved in.
- Problem Child going by, gives a chin nod at Sync when they catch eyes. First bump, explosion.
https://media.giphy.com/media/14wYRjm2dJTtU4/giphy.gif - Table where Jillian is sitting, she looks grumpy, makes a snippy comment, folk are talking about that match and not about her.
- Nono is talking animated to Emma, who is looking bored.
- Chris comes by, waves to Alex and Kiln, smiles, she points to plate, yeah, heads off.
The homeroom kind of is in general proximity.
Joe - Inexplicably grumpy. Salad.
As if accused, grumbles, “What? I wanted salad. With ham.”
Kiln - Quickly eating the spaghetti. Only they’re using chopsticks. And are eating it better than anyone else.
Watching the people who are giving us the stink eye.
Sync - just enjoying the spaghetti.
Alex - chicken tenders and fries. “What? I hate myself.”
(Kiln. I haven’t had those yet. Alex, protectively. Yes, I ate them all.)
Mette - Plate piled high with anything fresh. Veggies, fruit, anything from the salad bar. Except for seaweed snacks
Wrap Up
Joe - Closer to the Team. Because Mette let me catch her. Potential. -Freak, +Savior
Kiln - Closer to the Team. Joe. Potential. Infl from Joe
Sync - Image of Self (as Asshole). -Mundane, +Superior
Alex - Image of Self - +Freak, -Mundane
Mette - Closer to team, clear Guilty. Joe. +Superior, -Freak