Chloe Parker my young: Do you want to meet later this week for shopping?
My Phone: I do
My Phone: it won't be weird with Bebe being hurt
My Phone: ?
While the school undergoes its American tradition of a school shooting, Empyrean returns to the malleable subway-turned-HQ, as she has nowhere else to go for the moment.
Once returned via portal, she takes the opportunity to learn a bit more of the layout, to better know the rooms, where people plan, stay, eat, sleep... and then what?
Empyrean has a modest supper, and spends some time in the base, watching various news broadcasts, flipping through a variety of "breaking news" as if she's trying to get a handle on the dizzying array of events to which modern media demands instant and fleeting attention.
After watching many confusing and demanding talking heads she finds a place to settle in to sleep. Apparently her body requires sleep now.
~~~~~~~~~~
In the morning she rummages around and eventually settles on eating a bagel. Where does she get the extra energy necessary to do more than homeostasis? Who knows?
Having been told that she needs to socialize with her peer group, she then does what everyone else does after breakfast: She heads to school.
Unfortunately, her arrival this morning comes in the subdued wake of the prior day's attacks, and her attire is still drab and gray, and she seems to have no way of concealing her nature. Thus it is a bit dissonant to see a winged angel descend from the sky to land on the sidewalk near the school and then walk up the steps in gray sweatpants and a loose low-backed shirt, looking slightly lost.
Digits had truly meant to go to school today...but come on! For a podunk planet, they made some pretty F'd up media here! And really, how important is Earth school in the Grand Scheme, if I'm gonna be back in the stars before too long, right? And what the f&^k was Starbuck even thinking in that last scene. OK, just one more episode!
They'd put on Battlestar Galactica last night, thinking that watching Earth's ideas of life in space would be a good chuckle before bed...and then got totally sucked in. (Unrealistic, sure, but who cares!)
They were already more than an hour late to school by the time they finished the two-part season finale–and they hadn't slept a wink yet–so they were woken by Statian's alert. Digits pulled on their clothes and grabbed their portal gun, but everything was over before they could get there.
[To: group chat]
Digits: Sorry, was sleeping when that alert came in. Is the fight still on?
Digits: In my defense, none of you warned me how addictive BSG is. Yall have had years to digest Earth media. Maybe you've built up some natural immunity to binging shows or something? I'm defenseless!
Digits: Where you at now? I can come by.
Digits: Can you f&^kin believe Baltar got elected? And Boomer shoots A?! What's next?!?!? No spoilers!
"Good evening. I'm Gary Grumman for W-HCY Afternoon Edition. Tonight's top story, major changes at the Halcyon Preparatory Academy, the historic and prestigious high school. After the recent supervillain attack at the school where the gun-toting vigilante Mourning Dove attacked multiple students causing one major injury and the school's temporary closure, the Halcyon Prep Board of Directors have now voted to bar all students with extraordinary abilities.
"Once a place of learning for such heroic figures such as Praetoria, Nimbus, and Half-Pipe, and the team of young heroes called First Class, the academy is now shuttering its doors to anyone with powers.
"The lone voice of opposition, Dean Dr. Rico Alameda, held a press conference this morning."
"I cannot stress how disappointed I am in the Board's decision today. The founder of this school, Horatio Walden, understood that the most gifted among us need the most nurturing. The most different among us need the most acceptance. The most powerful among us need the most guidance. I'm certain that if the Alliance heroes were still here on Earth, this decision would not have been made. I pray for their quick return so that this short-sighted decision can be soon reversed."
"Powerful words. In a statement issued by the Halcyon Prep School Board, the members responded by saying, 'Non-powered students outnumber students with powers two hundred to one. The open presence of individuals with powers on our campus paints a target on the back of each student, powers or no. Halcyon Prep will continue to be a beacon of acceptance and learning, but for regular students who seek to excel without the constant distraction of super-powered mayhem.'
"More on this story as it develops."
Chloe Parker my young: Do you want to meet later this week for shopping?
My Phone: I do
My Phone: it won't be weird with Bebe being hurt
My Phone: ?
Chloe: Beebee will want to get out shopping after laying in a bed for so long
Chloe: So no trouble here for us to shop togetherChloe: If you have someone you want to invite too that's fine with me
***
In a general team chatbox:
Chroknight: I am going to be on patrol several times this week. Should anyone wish to patrol with me, let me know.
Chroknight: I am sorry for everyone who wanted to attend Halprep openly and can no longer do that.
|
Indy seems off-guard by Andromeda's comment, "I mean I didn't mean to...right." He casts his gaze to the side and backs off from the group. "I'll be in touch."
With that he turned and took off to go return to his patrols, a not insignificant jab of hurt scratching both his pride and the general good feels of a mostly successful defense.
***
Digits: Sorry, was sleeping when that alert came in. Is the fight still on?
Digits: In my defense, none of you warned me how addictive BSG is. Yall have had years to digest Earth media. Maybe you've built up some natural immunity to binging shows or something? I'm defenseless!
Digits: Where you at now? I can come by.
Digits: Can you f&^kin believe Baltar got elected? And Boomer shoots A?! What's next?!?!? No spoilers!
Indarius: Don't worry Digits, can't expect everyone to be ready for every situation. It's about as handled as it can be, officials are taking over now.
Indarius: Can't say I've watched it so dunno.
***
Chroknight: I am going to be on patrol several times this week. Should anyone wish to patrol with me, let me know.
Chroknight: I am sorry for everyone who wanted to attend Halprep openly and can no longer do that.
Indarius: I'll be on patrol as well Chro, if you'd like we could do it together.
Indarius: I'd like to have a team meeting tonight to debrief about the school situation as well if everyone can get free, maybe even do some team exercises, no holo room this time promise.
Digits: Can you f&^kin believe Baltar got elected? And Boomer shoots A?! What's next?!?!? No spoilers!
...
Indarius: Can't say I've watched it so dunno.
Statian: There were significant inaccuracies in potential advances technologies, given our current planetary progress, but the chaotic shifts in survivability all caused by human interactions was believable.
Chroknight: I am sorry for everyone who wanted to attend Halprep openly and can no longer do that.
Indarius: I'll be on patrol as well Chro, if you'd like we could do it together.
Indarius: I'd like to have a team meeting tonight to debrief about the school situation as well if everyone can get free, maybe even do some team exercises, no holo room this time promise.
Station: It has not been determined if I can attend yet or not, since I am an obfuscated identity instead of secret.
Sam is torn, as much as she ever is. Remote learning is fine with her, she learns nothing in class anyway, but that is the point. Human interaction is what she is supposed to be learning in school. Her matrix and more importantly her father believes it important. The look of worry he gives her stirs something in the blankness inside her, and not something good.
In the chat.
Station: I can patrol remotely, since I have no means of transporting myself as you do. And I will attend the meeting.
Meanwhile, at Taylor Tower
Harper Bradley enters Max's room holding her ever-present tablet. "Good afternoon, Ms. Lopez. It's good to have you back in Halcyon. Your return has given you an eighteen percent bump in followers, so we need to capitalize on that. The bridge fight was a bust, since it turned out to be a simulation. Worse, you missed out on the real fight with the computer program.
"You need some more action, or at least interesting happenings. I'm watching the news feeds, but it's been quiet so I'm looking elsewhere. There's been recent speculation that the meteor shower from last month is the sign of an evil entity returning. I'm digging through the archives for more information on that. Maybe you could talk with some of your other magic friends about it? Or get in on the mystery angel? There's quite a bit of buzz around her," Harper suggests.
Max smiles at Harper. "Yeah, it's taken me a bit to get re-adjusted here. I'd been hoping to get back into classes at Halcyon Prep, but... well, looks like that's not an option any more.
"I'm interested in Empyrean and her origins. I'll see what I can do to find out more about her. In the meantime, I'll ask around to see if anybody knows what's up with the meteors."
Once Harper leaves, Max adjusts her hair before recording herself on her phone. "What's up, you guys? It's DD here. Things have been a bit loco for me lately, but that's life in Halcyon City, isn't it? Speaking of cray-cray, has anybody heard the rumors about last month's meteor shower? Some sort of big bad evil thing coming to town? If anybody has more deets, hit up my DMs. Maybe I can find it and kick its butt, hero-style!" She gives the camera a wink, then sends the video to her socials.
The news that Halcyon Preparatory Academy has shuttered its doors to powered individuals spreads rapidly to the various young heroes looking to take classes or are already enrolled in the storied school. Those given special dispensation to attend through the Alliance's behind-the-scenes' organizations suddenly find themselves with letters regretfully informing them that they were no longer able to continue to take classes at Hal-Prep. Not only clearly inhuman figures like Indarius and Devil Diva, Samantha Murphy, Archibald Greene, Angelica Freeman, and Guillaume Roy-Côté all receive the bad news.
Furious at the hypocrisy that Joy Jones apparently was still allowed to attend, Empyrean's handler Ms. Trask informs the Newborn being that she should not attend the school as well. "We'll figure something out," she says, not elaborating further.
Max's call to arms to her followers gets a lot of responses, but few actually have real insights. That is, until @batdude79 provides a picture of what looks like an exhibit in a museum showing several heroes fighting what appears to be a vaguely Egyptian-styled supervillain. Above the main picture is a shot of the night sky with colorful streaks arcing across it. The caption from @batdude79 reads, TOOK THAT PIX AT THE PRAETORIUM BEFORE IT CLOSED. I THINK THIS MIGHT BE YOUR METEOR SHOWR GUY BUT I DONT REMEMBER WHO IT WAS
After that post, there are a lot of comments from Diva and Taylor fans that recall going to the museum highlighting the legacy of the Praetorian throughout the years. Shut down after the tragic disappearance of the last Praetorian and Ultra-Star, the Praetorium has been closed to the public for several years now. The general consensus of Diva fans seem to indicate that she should push to have it reopened and maybe do a big production to celebrate its grand reopening!
Her father had told her.
She had been busy compiling statistical patterns to determine all potential random flares of violence across each neighborhood in the city. A project so full of data is might make another girl curl her toes. Sam just hummed.
So she had been distracted and missed the email.
"You've been kicked out" his voice so full of concern for her, it startled her out of her endless arrays. She blinked, he explained, and then he fumed a bit "You are only hero support, you stay out of danger, there is no reason you should be kicked out!!"
A little lie. One that she had felt safe in, knowing he barely was okay with her being even that. Worry, loss, all of it was too much, and she was unwilling to attempt to mute his emotions as well. Modifying the media going to him was as easy as obfuscating her own depictions to everyone else, enough few would ever recognize her.
She nodded "I'll fill out all the forms to request a new judgement." another lie, but she knew despite loving her more than anything, he was too busy with making enough they could pay their bills and the medical debt from her mother. He couldn't do this, so he trusted her to do it.
But the officials of the school knew what she was. A hero. Not support.
Something cracked the muffled shield inside her brain, and spiked jagged heat seeped through.
They had done this, hurt him, they... already her threads were pulling up details about each member of that school board, about their interests, about the websites they went to, bank accounts, their kid's bus schedules, everything... it would be so easy to destroy them. Utterly.
But... she looked up to where her father was trudging up the stairs, her exhausted bear of a dad.
Her threads retracted. The information was wiped from her screens.
Statian: I have been expelled.
After a pause, a frowning emoji was added.
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Chloe watches her dad's reaction to the email. She wanted to see how he felt about this. There were several things that she read across his expression: Surprise, then relief, then worry. At least he wasn't gleeful that heroes were effectively banned from the campus.
How would he react to this if he knew that his own daughter was one that managed to skate underneath the banning?
She excuses herself to go and hit up the team chat. There's a few more messages, some people wanting to patrol together, but then Statian's statement hit hard.
Chroknight: I'm fairly certain they cannot expel any of you without cause. Legally they would have to provide alternative means for education.
Empyrean is only in front of the Halcyon Prep academy for a few minutes before she receives the message from Ms. Trask. She doesn't even make it in the school's front doors. At least people here are somewhat used to seeing "superbeings," and her appearance doesn't precipitate a riot or a stampede. As soon as Ms. Trask alerts her to the trouble, she takes to the air again. She flies to a nearby church, where she roosts on the roof over the belltower, just long enough to catch up on messages.
Empyrean: I have likewise been told that I should not attempt to attend Halcyon
Empyrean: Is there something else that we should be doing? Where can I meet with the team?
Andromeda: Laws don't stop the government from doing what it wants
Andromeda: If it really wants it
Andromeda: We're expelled the question is what else they want from us
Growing closer to the team means you care more about your fellow teammates and you’re more connected to them than you were before. If you feel like the bond between you and the other PCs grew, then you probably grew closer to the team. You ultimately need to pick one teammate in particular you feel you grew closer to, even if you feel like you grew closer to the whole group—choose the person you feel you had the greatest bond with over the course of the session. They get Influence over you, and all the rules apply—if they already have Influence over you, they immediately shift one of your Labels up and one down, without you being able to reject their Influence. In turn, you get to clear any marked condition of your choice, or mark potential. If they shift your Labels, they shouldn’t shift any Labels that will cause you to mark a condition—it’s the end of the session, and characters shouldn’t be marking conditions right before you stop playing.
Growing into your own image of yourself means you’re becoming more
of how you see your adult self. It means you’re becoming closer to what you want to be, or at the very least what you think you will be. It’s less about your interactions with any other character, and more about you becoming an independent and complete person on your own. Explain to the group exactly what you see yourself becoming and how that was borne out over the course of the session, and then you get to choose one of your own Labels to shift up and one to shift down.
Growing away from the team means you drifted away from your teammates and friends. Maybe you had a fight with them, or actively disagreed with
them...but maybe you just diverged and went different ways. You indicate that you no longer care about the words or opinions of a teammate in the same way, and take away their Influence over you. This is one of the few ways you can take Influence over you away from another character.
"Welcome, viewers, to The Line in the Sand with Rav Tuscon. Our top story, the Board of Directors of Halcyon Preparatory Academy has finally come to its senses and, as we like to say here on this program, drawn a line in the sand when it comes to the safety and security of its students. At long last, the prestigious school has done the sane thing and stopped putting kids with powers in the same classes as regular students. I swear, it was like putting ticking time bombs under the desks of every child in that place.
"Of course, just like whenever anyone these days decides to do something wise and proper, there are those whack jobs out there who will find a way to stir up controversy. I'm joined tonight by someone who for some reason thinks it's a good idea putting demons and aliens in the same classrooms as regular, normal students. Nimbus of the Heralds."
"Thank you, Rav. I appreciate the chance to address your viewers."
"Happy to have you on the show. Maybe you can articulate why you think it's a good idea to put these kids in danger?"
"It's not a question of putting kids in danger. It's--"
"--So you admit they're in danger! It's what I've been saying all along, powered people are a magnet for mayhem and chaos!"
"Please, let me finish, Rav. Kids need connections. Friends. And they might be kids with powers, but they're still kids. You know me and Half-Pipe both went to Hal-Prep. We were learning, building relationships not just with each other, but our classmates. I'm still friends with the Class of--"
"Nimbus, let me educate you. In just the last year, the Hal-Prep all-purpose room was destroyed by an extradimensional alien, the boy's dorm was blown open by one of Whippoorwill's explosives, the Halloween dance was crashed by joy-sucking demons, and now this crazy vigilante shows up blasting away at students! And those are just the ones we know about!"
"And with the exception of one injured student, zero casualties. Buildings can be fixed, Rav. The lives saved are priceless."
"Let's look at Franklin, Halcyon North, Moremont Regional, Greenfield, and Riverton high schools... Oh, here! Zero incidents. You can't say because they got lucky that--"
"Wasn't Franklin's sports field and bleachers destroyed during the same time frame? Moremont reported several mass panics among the students, and the "Ghost of Greenfield" was--"
"That's life in Halcyon, Nimbus. Where was your team during these incidents?"
"Now it's our fault? Rav, you understand there's a choice when it comes to dealing with young people with powers. You either integrate them or keep them separate and apart from the rest of humanity. Apart, they start believing they're different -- and worse, better-- and that's where ideologies like Shard and the Chosen start to take root. Do you want that?"
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While on a short break Indarius swoops down to Chroknight with a baggie with burgers.
"Hey, let's stop for a bit take a bit of a break, I know it can't be easy running around everywhere, just like it's not a breeze flying everywhere. Didn't know what you liked so just got a chicken sandwich, but we can always grab something else."
Station: I can patrol remotely, since I have no means of transporting myself as you do. And I will attend the meeting.
Statian: I have been expelled.
Chroknight: I'm fairly certain they cannot expel any of you without cause. Legally they would have to provide alternative means for education.
Indarius: Damn, sorry to hear that Station, we'll figure something out. I'm not sure if I can do anything personally other than join in writing to the board to try and get them to reconsider.
Empyrean: I have likewise been told that I should not attempt to attend Halcyon
Empyrean: Is there something else that we should be doing? Where can I meet with the team?
Indarius: We can't change it right now, but we can still do our best to protect Halcyon. We'll meet up at Unity Station later Empyrean, I live there right now, let me know if there's anything I can do to make it more confortable for you.
Indarius: Same goes to anyone else who needs to stay at Unity.
Andromeda: Laws don't stop the government from doing what it wants
Andromeda: If it really wants it
Andromeda: We're expelled the question is what else they want from us
Indarius: Only time will tell, but they should know they're making a pretty big mistake. Hang tight for now everyone we(the hero community) will figure this out together.
"You know for someone claiming others are only stirring up controversy, Rav 's+%! for brains' Tuscon sure does a whole lot of that without staying on topic. Typical podcast host."
Indarius says to the open air as he paces within Unity, he groans feeling cramped having been settled to his humanoid form for far too long. Moving out to the platform proper he unravels into his full body and finally takes a bit to relax, like letting out a pent up breath, despite all the thoughts plaguing his mind.
He takes out his communicator and keys it to Nimbus's frequency, "Hey just heard the interview with the sleeze ball. He did a real good job at deflecting and staying off topic. One of these days I feel like it's gonna come back to nip em. My team is pretty tore up about the school situation and I told them the hero community would figure out some kind of splution. I' worried about the looser cannons in the young powered community, it could have negative effects on people with backgrounds like Phalanx and I'm worried. Any thoughts from the other teams left in town?"
Indarius only saw the cold gleam of Chroknight's faceplate staring at him as they finished zip-tying the thief to the bike rack, her satchel full of stolen sports memorabilia there with her for the police to log and return to the store she'd stolen them from.
Chroknight simply mixed putting food in their mouth, before tapping the solid surface. "In case you hadn't noticed, I don't eat on the job."
They do take the food from him. Not like it won't be good to eat later. Right now it was just the slow wait of the patrol car to come pick up the perp and take their statements.
"...how much would people pay for a baseball signed by the '88 Hierarchs?" They ask the thief. She blinks before responding. "Uh, dunno what I'd have gotten, but the price on the case was for like, eight grand."
"Wow. Can you imagine spending that much on a ball?" Chroknight asks Indarius, tilting their head.
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Indarius frowned, the expression looking especially sour with his long face. He knew what Chroknight was doing.
"No I can't imagine spending that much on any one object really. Let alone a baseball. You know my old teammate actually got me into card games, turned out I could use my magic to make the cards come to life like in the T.V. shows. Was some neat stuff, wish I had used it more often." He shakes his head remembering Shin using the ball days before to try and speak with him on the matters of being a leader and stretching himself too thin.
He glowered silently at the would-be thief until the police arrived, then lead Chroknight away.
"Look, eat on the job, don't eat on the job, whatever." He stood a step away turning to look them in the place where assuming Chroknight was himan would be the eyes behind the faceplate.
"But this is me as your leader and veteran hero telling you, it's alright to take a break. If we don't rest sometime we end up doing worse than nothing. Tired minds make bad calculations, bad calculations... well you understand. If it's about whatever you've got under the mask, don't worry. I don't plan on telling anyone or trying to find out, ai respect the need to dostance yourself from it, I did the same thing when I still could." He says flexing his draconic fingers.
"Just.. make sure you take some time to yourself too, noone's a hero 100% of the time." Sound words of advice he could honestly stand to follow himself.
"By the way, that girl you saved, the student... I wanted to say good job, I'm glad you did it." He trailed, hoping Chroknight would be more receptive to this conversation and want to continue it.
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"...Yeah. No."
Chroknight considers rolling back about thirty seconds and cutting Indarius off. But decides it's not worth the hassle.
"I have a life. I take time to do things that I enjoy. Like hanging out with a cool dragon friend. But not when he's being so pasagg, you know?"
They step away from him. "Don't take me not wanting to reveal my secret identity to you as not wanting to hang out. But shut that leader of the team act down. Seriously, you act like every conversation has to be a lesson or something. Can we just have fun catching bad guys and maybe talking about things you did with the Alliance? I heard that Whippoorwill was like tight with your team."
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There is a moment where Indarius tenses and bristles. His scales and spines quivering and moving to stand on end, subtle flexes of wing musculature and a quick whip of the end of his tail. He flexes his jaw and for a brief moment one might think the draconic or perhaps even human pride of being called out might rear in an ugly way. Turning his head and snorting his body very slowly relaxes
"Fine, you got me. No story-lesson or b*+*~&&* leader talk... for now."
He turns and moves away to give Chroknight their space, "For the record though, I don't care who you are under the helmet that's not important to me, plus I found out before with an old teammate on accident, and it blew up in my face so not interested in that again. Just, next time let us know when plans change. That's all I'll say."
Rapping a claw on a bike rack not occupied by anyone, he hums throatily, several things crossing his mind.
"I wouldn't say we worked close with the entire Alliance, but without a doubt Whippoorwill was pretty close to the team. The old team leader Horizon, alternate timeline younger version of Dusk no-more, was actually her student. Her right hand, her protege if you will. It's why we have the base it's why I've got a home to stay away from home, so my folks don't have to keep an eye on their backs, or avoid any talks about their son suddenly turning into an 11 foot tall magical lizard."
Indarius looks to be trying very hard to relax and just tell a cool story for Chroknight, but it's obvious by his still quite human mannerisms that he's not used to being relaxed.
"There were a few times we interacted with The Alliance. Can't say I personally had loads of time with Whippoorwill. Anything you'd like to hear about I guess? There was this one time with a pixie and some action figures involving Whip and Imagerie. Yeoman was pretty close with the person Doctor Infinity, whom I inherited my... former spellbook from. The whole situation with Praetoria and the alien bounty hunter in downtown. Wyvern syrum incidint at Halc prep, the various missions abroad we went on where we got the okay from Whippoorwill. That whole shebang involving Lovelace International a few months back."
Some other gears seem to be turning in Indarius's head as he brings up a handful of the teams escapades for Chroknight to choose. For a moment he looks sad, but quickly makes an attempt to shove that emotion down deeper.
Empyrean: I'll return to Unity Station then
Empyrean: Plenty to read
Statian: I have been expelled. :(
Empyrean: Is there something else that we should be doing? Where can I meet with the team?
Andromeda: Laws don't stop the government from doing what it wants
Andromeda: If it really wants it
Andromeda: We're expelled the question is what else they want from us
Digits: Not sure how this all works, but I suppose me too? More time to have fun, maybe? I heard the aquarium was supposed to be cool.
Digits: Oh, or exploring the sewers! I feel like that's a surprisingly great way to get to know a planet, don't you? Who wants a...what do you call it...searching...field trip?| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
"Missions abroad? Do tell." Chroknight requests as they continue their patrol...
Chroknight: So apparently I angered the ninja mafia
Chroknight: Sorry to everyone if that comes up again
Chroknight: Also letting you all know I've come back from a future where exploring the sewers caused catastrophe, Digits, so don't do that.
Chroknight: Also, Devil Diva - when do we get invited to Taylor Tower?
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Archie turns the door into his house, his foster mom and father standing at the dinner table with a computer open and stern looks on their faces.
"Sup yall, why the long faces?" Archie says as he moves towards the pantry.
"Archie, you've been expelled. The school claims you are a known superhuman. What does that mean? Is this why you were attacked? We were notified about the incident yesterday. Where did you get that gun?" His mother asks with a concerned look.
oh s++~.
"Well, about that, Um, I do have superpowers, cats kinda out of the bag with that one. I've had them for years, kept em hidden cause they are really useful, I can create stuff out of thin air, then it disintegrates. Like this."
Archie demonstrates his ability by crafting a sledgehammer then snapping his fingers causing it to vanish. His foster parents stare amazed.
"But I'm using my powers for good." He continues."I'm apart of a cool new super team with some kids from my school that's why they were expelled too."
"This is a lot to take in, I can imagine why you never told us." His father says. "It's still hard to comprehend." Archies mom approaches him and offers an embrace. "I'm proud of you son, that your using your gift for good." His mom says as she embraces Archie.
"Thanks Mom." Archie replies.
Better that they believe I was always a upstanding member of society, otherwise that conversation would have been way different.
Archie checks his phone to find several unread messages. "Excuse me, can we talk about this later in more detail? Duty calls."
Phalanx: Woohoo! No more school! Who cares that they kicked us out? I can make graduation certificates if anyone wants one.
Archie then uploads a selfie of him holding up a Doctorate of Law, a Doctorate of Medicine, and a Bachelors Degree in "Kicking Ass."
Phalanx: See? All of a sudden I'm a doctor and a lawyer. Also I gotta get out of the house so I'm down for anything as long as it happens right now.
Mr. and Mrs. Badawi are seated next to Beebee as she lay in the hospital bed when Chloe arrives. She smiles weakly at her friend when she enters the room. "Hey, Bestie," she says with a slight rasp to her voice. "I was just telling Mom and Dad that I was saved by a real superhero. Too bad I passed out, or I woulda gotten their autograph for you."
Beebee's parents don't look especially amused at her joke, and are clearly fussing over their daughter.
Chloe walks in and tries her best to not look guilty about all of this with Beebee hooked up to an IV and the obvious bandaging under her hospital gown. At least she didn't come here empty handed.
"Mr. and Mrs. Badawi," Chloe greets them first, before going over to Beebee's beside. She's got a tupperware container that she pops open, the scent of brown sugar wafting out of it. "I made some hotteok for you. I hope that you're good to eat something other than whatever they're calling food here."
"Cool," Beebee smiles again and leans slightly over to give it a sniff. Her injured arm is immobilized after the surgery, and the other has the IVs.
Her mother is suddenly beside Chloe and taking the container out of her hand. "She needs to rest right now."
Beebee rolls her eyes. "Ugh. I feel all right. Maybe a little fuzzy." Her eyes still manage to focus on Chloe. "I heard no one else was hurt. Lucky me, huh?"
"Yeah, it seems that Dove woman was taken into custody quickly. I think most people are just kind of shocked that she would do this kind of thing so brazenly," Chloe says, looking at her container of Korean sweet pancakes with slight sadness.
"I'm glad you're alive, because you're not leaving me high and dry when I need you to explain what Mr. Allensbee is talking about in chemistry, okay?" Chloe says, as she also glances briefly around the room, looking for cameras. Wondering if they can speak openly if her parents leave.
Chloe doesn't see anything like surveillance cameras, but definitely there are ways to summon help in an emergency.
Her parents scowl at the chemistry question.
After several minutes of small talk, Mr. Badawi checks the time then mutters under his breath. Beebee looks at him. "Arshad's been gone a while. Chloe will look after me if you want to go look for him."
Her parents briefly confer, then agree to look for Beebee's twin brother. She smiles at Chloe. "Ashad went to the vending machines a half hour ago."
Once her parents leave, she sighs. "Just say it."
Chloe keeps up her smile until the parents are gone and then there's a seriously worried look on her face when she turns to her friend. "How could he have dragged you back in your condition?" She asks. "He didn't even look for medical help at all. You were minutes away from exsanguinating, a word I've learned because of the EMTs that saved your life!"
She wishes she had a hotteok to nibble on now. "He nearly let you die, all because he was probably unhappy being left out of the fight. I just want to..." She mimics squeezing someone's neck, before relenting. "...but if you'd actually died, I think I'd be harder on myself than him."
Beebee tries to get in a word. "He--? I was-- But he didn't-- We both--"
When Chloe finally stops, she shakes her head. "I thought you were gonna chew me out. He didn't tell you? I was the one who went back! Guillaume is on your team, right? I wanted to give him a chance to help, and I wanted to see if you were all right! And to, you know, see you in action."
"...Okay, now I'm going to chew you out. You. Were. SHOT." Chloe hisses, trying to keep her voice down even though she really wanted to shout.
"And you were probably also in shock, which I guess explains how you didn't notice how hurt you were. Still. You can watch me when I'm doing the thing anytime. But not when you've been seriously hurt!"[/i]
Chloe picks at the end of the sleeves of her hoodie. [B]"...you were there for me after my mom died. I don't know what I would do if you died during a super battle as well."
Beebee stares at Chloe silently. Her chest rises and falls while the monitoring equipment softly beeps. She wets her lips before speaking softly. "If I'd have gone with everyone else, I wouldn't have been where you found me. No one else could have gotten me to an ambulance in time."
"...and I would have done that first if I wasn't so upset that you had been hurt in the first place and went swinging on that lunatic." Chloe admits. "I forgot the promise I made when I decided to do this: Saving people is worth more than avenging them."
She looks up at Beebee. "...so, moving on. I'm fairly certain Gui is going to try and visit you. Which means I'll have to make myself scarce when he arrives."
"Sure," Beebee says, understanding. "But, I want to help you. And not just with chemistry. With, like, your--" She looks past Chloe where her family is just getting back --"counter march! I'm your drum major, I need you to practice that, since last time-- hey!"
The Badawis make their way in to the small room. Beebee's parents start fussing over her, telling her not to worry about marching band at the moment.
"Hi, Cloe," Arshad says with a smile. "Good to see you here -- Wait, it's not good, Bee's in a hospital. I mean, you know she's in a hospital, obviously. So..." He looks down at the snacks in his hands. "You want something? Ginger ale? Praetor-bar?"
"I'll take a bar, so long as it's not peanut butter," Chloe tells Arshad. "Beebee's doing great all things considered. I'm still freaked out and I had the misfortune to be heading to the restroom when things got crazy."
"Um, chocolate cherry," he says as he reads the package, then hands it over.
"Leave it to Chloe to call being away from the action 'misfortune,'" Beebee snorts.
"I was in the weight room, so I didn't hear it until the lock down was lifted." Arshad opens the ginger ale and adds a straw so Beebee can drink more easily. Then he backs toward one of the chairs and starts to sit before stopping himself. "Oh, did you want to sit?"
"It's fine. At least I'm not harnessed into a drum right now," Chloe jokes. "I can stand for days when I'm not carrying someone."
She bites the corner of the bar and chews slowly before swallowing. "Honestly, not the worst thing to happen. You remember when last year those things showed up at the Halloween dance, and the whole scandal with the sports teams getting fuzzy?"
Arshad looks uncomfortable. "... that was just a rumor." His parents look unamused at the mention of the sports teams scandal. Arshad had been on the junior varsity football team during that time, and he swore that he never took any of the supplements.
"Ooooooor the space fungus that invaded, right?" Chloe switches tracks away from that can of worms. "Crazy stuff. Whew. Uh. Anyways, my dad's taking the opportunity to get more people in the store during this sudden break so he's got me working a couple extra gaming events. Magic cards and that anime game with the stretchy pirate? I should probably check in with him..."
She looks to Beebee. "I'll be back tomorrow. You rest up, okay?" She nods to her parents, before glancing at Arshad. "Talk later - thanks for the snack!"
Beebee's parents smile earnestly as Chloe is about to leave. "Thanks for coming, and thank you for the treat. It's good that Basma has such a friend," Mrs. Badawi says while Arshad looks suddenly interested in the pancakes she brought.
While the scene of Beebee's brother getting his hand smacked for reaching plays out in the background, Beebee reaches out gently with her uninjured arm and gives Chloe's hand a squeeze. "Thanks. Sorry to have scared you. Say hi to your dad for me?"
About an hour after lunch, Gui knocks on BeeBee's door.
A muffled, "come in," is heard through the door. Once the door opens, Gui can see Beebee hitting a button that raises her bed to a more upright sitting position.
"Who? Oh! You're Gui, right? Am I pronouncing that right?"
"Yes, dat is about right." He says, coming in, closing the door behind. "Hope I am not bodering you, or interrupting e rest." He is wearing plain clothes and carrying a bag with him.
"I... just wanted to check and see how you are doing." Noticing how her mobility is limited, he fishes his gift from inside the bag, a lion stuffed toy that has a heart with a crown in its chest. "And got dis for you. Do not really like gifting flowers because dey die to quickly... and are, boring?"
"Aww," she looks at the gift. "You didn't need to get me anything. I'm fine. Cute, though." She looks at the stuffed lion.
"I know, but den I would be coming empty handed and it would have been more difficult to break de ice." He says, smiling, before taking another thing from his pocket, an extra long phone charger. "And dis is de actually useful gift."
He looks around for a couple moments, before adding. "So... I almost got you killed, did not I?"
She looks at him for a while without saying anything. Finally, she shakes her head. "No, you didn't. If I went with everyone else, I wouldn't have been found by Chroknight. They wouldn't have known to run me to the ambulance. I might not have made it if I didn't go back."
"God..." And he almost started to recite William Cowper's verses, but there is probably nothing cheesier than a French guy reciting poetry. "Tanks God." You don't actually need to be a believer to recognize there is something out there when you do enough wrong decisions and they end up working in the end.
"Tanks God to make our paths cross with e hero who could help you." Unlike him. Urh, what was he doing? So selfish. He was here to make sure she was ok and to make her feel better, not the other way around.
"Anyway, I am really glad you are ok." he smiles, or at least tries really hard. "Is dere anyting I can do to help you in any way?" They had just met, actually, so even in such a brief visit he could not feel he was intruding into something he wasn't invited to.
She looks around the room. "Umm, not really? I mean, you could, like, hand me that tablet." She points to a school-issued tablet on a side table that's a little bit of a reach for her considering the tubes running into her. "I need to check my classes, see if I missed any assignments. Though, I've got a pretty good excuse." She grins.
Gui passes her her tablet. "Why... did you want so badly to go back anyway?"
She doesn't look up, instead studying her reflection on her tablet's black surface. "I... thought there might be something I could do. To help. I didn't know how bad I was bleeding."
Beebee's eyes raise to meet Gui's. "You're not, you know, from Halcyon, right? You're new here? It's called the City of Heroes, and not just because of the supers. Does that make sense?"
Does that make sense? "Not much... Perhaps because I was not raised here, like you have said. My fader would say dat 'you already help e lot by not disturbing'." He says, but then shrugs. "But it always got me angry."
"What I do know is dat after tings have happened and we know all de answers, it is very easy for people to look back and say you should or should not have done dis or dat."
"We call that 'Monday morning quarterbacking' here in the States. Saying what should have been done afterwards."
She pauses, then adds, "Quarterbacks are the guys who throw the ball on American football teams. If you didn't know."
"Oh, you mean de sport dat by 'football' means trowing e ball with your hands and by 'American' means mostly de States while de rest of America actually only do soccer?" He asks, trying in vain to keep a straight face. "Hehe, we have Canadian Football, which is mostly de same."
Beebee blinks hard. "You're Canadian?"
"Yup. My accent would be much worse if I was from France."
"Oh. Sorry, I just... didn't know. I thought, well, French accent..."
"Some of de charm is gone, right?" He jokes, smiling, but before she gets the chance to answer he continues. "But anyway, I am glad you are all right, and I should let you rest, so see you at school?"
"Yeah, as soon as classes start up again. They're letting me go tomorrow, so I won't miss any. See you then."
Once Gui leaves, Beebee snatches up her phone and sends a quick text to Chloe.
Beebee: Gui just visited. He was sweet. You know he's Canadian and not French?
Beebee: Anyway, he said he'll see me at school. Sorry, I should have blown him off. Forgot he can't see you.
Beebee: sorry. I keep messing up
Chloe: French-Canadian. And no, it's fine
Chloe: I'd rather know where not to run into him
Chloe: Talk later, fighting ninjas
Beebee: are you stopping time mid-fight to send a text?!?
Chloe: Slowing it down, or else I couldn't type
Chloe: This one dude has a whole halberd on a chain, it's wild
Rolling her eyes, Beebee tosses the phone aside and flops back in her hospital bed. "That is why I need to make sure she's all right," she mutters to the empty room.
Unity Base has rarely felt this crowded. As the young group of special beings have explored the concept of being a team, each hero has struggled to find where exactly their membership fits into their lives. It's fitting that Unity Base used to be an old subway station as their individual comings and goings have made First Class's base of operations more transitory than ever.
"Unity" Base, however, had never been more of a misnomer.
That of course changed when a reactionary school board elected to prohibit extraordinarily gifted youths from attending alongside its unpowered student body. This left those who required special dispensation to attend Halcyon Preparatory Academy suddenly without a school or classes.
Unity Base now provided a place to occupy the mornings and afternoons where once they would have been filled with classes and extracurriculars. The entire team, their futures uncertain, find themselves commiserating or planning their next move.
He takes out his communicator and keys it to Nimbus's frequency, "Hey just heard the interview with the sleeze ball. He did a real good job at deflecting and staying off topic. One of these days I feel like it's gonna come back to nip em. My team is pretty tore up about the school situation and I told them the hero community would figure out some kind of solution. I' worried about the looser cannons in the young powered community, it could have negative effects on people with backgrounds like Phalanx and I'm worried. Any thoughts from the other teams left in town?"
"Thanks for reaching out. We're doing what we can, in the limited time we have while the Alliance is off-world. We all appreciate you patrolling more. It really helps.
"Hey. Don't let your team give up hope. The Alliance had been running that 'Hero School' for First Class, and they had been talking with us about making it a more structured thing. Unless they get back soon, it'll be up to us. But we're working on finding options. I'll let you know when we have some."
Unity Base's proximity alarm sounds briefly, but it is abruptly cut off. As the heroes react to possible danger and prepare for an attack, a beautiful Hispanic woman in a pristine business suit walks brazenly in from one of the tunnels.
"Hello," she says politely, then holds up her hands in a placating gesture. "Please. I don't mean to alarm you. My name is Rosa Vallejo. And I'm here to extend you all an invitation. To be part of the inaugural class of the first ever school for the extraordinary: Daedalus."
A light smile plays upon her lips as she regards each of the faces and expressions in the room. "We feature state-of-the-art facilities and an enriching curriculum that includes the core disciplines, math, science, language, arts, but also classes specifically tailored to developing your unique gifts. Most of our faculty have special gifts as well, and look forward to imparting their experiences to the next generation of extraordinary individuals.
"Are you interested?"
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Sourly, Andromeda raises her hand. "I don't know a lot of myths, but didn't Daedalus get the only kid he taught killed?"
Archie throws a baseball to a dupe and then catches its return throw. He notices the business formal woman and whips around with an old timey Colt .45 in his hand.
After hearing her proposal he drops the gun into nothingness.
"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh, more school? C'mon man, not cool." He groans."Do we have a choice?" Archie asks.
"Nope."
Chroknight speaks up where they are currently lounging on the top of one of the subway cars. They were currently experimenting with their powers by flipping a coin, only to slow the coin as it flipped through the air. They were trying to keep it going for at least ten seconds before it landed.
They wave a hand to Indarius. "I think we need to put up a 'No Solicitations' sign in front of our secret base if we're going to just let anyone inside. Or, you know, abandon it since it's clearly not working as intended. Miss Diva, any room for us in your penthouse?"
Ms. Vallejo's smile becomes slightly strained at Andromeda's question, but her tone becomes playful. "I wouldn't put too much stock in names, my dear. Especially considering you have chosen a moniker associated with the classical damsel in distress." Her smile becomes genuine. "And I know you are not."
She next addresses Phalanx. "I'm inviting you, so yes. You have a choice. But I would hope you would at least first consider the opportunity. Consider, a school completely dedicated to teaching and training extraordinary individuals such as yourselves. You can get to know others like yourselves. You won't have to be alone."
Turning to Chroknight, she tilts her head. "You'd refuse just like that? Without having even seen the campus? Met the faculty? The other students who will be your classmates?"
"How can you tailor classes to our unique gifts?" Sam cocked her head, appraising the woman, while her threads corrected all around her. Her goggles were on, her tablet slung on a strap across her hoodie, with some threads connected.
While she waited for an answer, she was searching the web for all it had on Rosa Vallejo and Daedalus
"Unlike the rest of my team, I know not to let my freak flag wave in front of the normal people. So sorry, I'm already enrolled in the school of Wouldn't You Like To Know Academy. We don't have fancy fields or working school instruments, but Meatloaf Mondays still get me back on campus after the long weekend."
They look at the others still taking this all in. "You can all do whatever you want. But I can't help but think this is the kind of poison pawn being offered up because there's no other way forward on the board. Oh, did I mention my chess rating's a 540?"
Sam looks to Chloe "Asking questions, gathering information, and weighing options IS intelligent." the ginger's tone just slightly sharper than normal.
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Indarius groaned loudly as his defensive wards were once again simply walked through, in his frustration he gouges a solid chunk of the platform out with his claws as he stands in his true form to meet whatever approached. He was displeased that it was someone so simple looking woman in business attire. He cocked his head to glare at her as she gave her shpeel.
'Do we trust a mysterious school for powered individuals that just so happened to pop up out of nowhere as soon as it was needed? No. Do we trust that the faciluties will be well thought out and fot for the myriad of powers avaliable to the world's populace? No. Does this obviously smell like a trap set up hy exactly the kind of organization that Andromeda was worried about looking to get something out of us? Yes.'
After tense moments of contemplative silence Indarius's wings relaxed and his tail dropped to the ground non-defensively.
"I would hear your offer, despite your intrusion. As I think it would benefit my team to continue their scholastic journey. Come and sit in our meeting room, could I offer you any refreshments?"
He sounds very sincere about the concerns and looks to the team, "I would ask you all to honestly consider her offer as well."
"Well there was a time we went to Italy to look for Praetoria's little brother. I think Horizon had other reasons too, but he was never quite an open book. Whippoorwill didn't go with us, but she okay'd the plan then I teleported everyone over. There we dealt with a cult tried to be subtle but one of our teammates was neither subtle or good at following orders. Basically showed our entire hand right out of the gate and caused a huge fight. We blew Shane's cover, fought a psychic amalgam from beyond our universe, and wrecked a lot of buildings. We barely even got a chance to really enjoy the country side."
Ms. Vallejo lights up at Statian's question about tailored classes. "I'm glad you asked! Daedalus offers all sorts of classes, from flight school, to magic -- both beginner and advanced--, to the theoretical and quantum sciences. Oh, robotics, power armor, and advanced weaponry workshops. There are also combat classes at a variety of skill levels. Our buildings are all reinforced structures able to withstand all but the most concerted destructive efforts." She gives Andromeda a pointed look. "Imagine a place that's finally not built of tissue paper."
As she talks, Sam's search identifies Rosa Vallejo as the former hero called Chicle, most recently affiliated with the global conglomerate Lovelace International.
She accepts Indarius's welcome and joins him in the meeting room, though she stands as though making a presentation.
Ms. Vallejo turns to Chroknight. "You are fortunate that your masked persona has not been linked to your civilian one. What if that changes? Or, are you so willing to flaunt your ability to have 'Meatloaf Mondays' while the rest of your friends here are locked out? I believe Daedalus has the resources to keep your secret."
As she mentioned by text, Empyrean returns to Unity Station. Outside.
Empyrean: I am outside of Unity but I cannot enter
Empyrean: The structure appears to be warded by a goetic seal
Empyrean: I am (meta)physically barred from passage
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They look to Vallejo, struggling to come up with a retort for her observation. No, wait, they don't need to do that.
Chroknight rolled back fifteen seconds, and started to speak in sync with Vallejo's statement to them.
"You are fortunate that your masked persona-"
"'-has not been linked to your civilian one. What if that changes? Or, are you so willing to flaunt your ability to have 'Meatloaf Mondays' while the rest of your friends here are locked out?'" Chroknight continues even as Ms. Vallejo probably stops speaking. "'I believe Daedalus has the resources to keep your secret.' Time powers. I'm covered on the secret identity. Thanks but no thanks."
"Flaunting your ability, then. I see." Chroknight seems to become invisible to Ms. Vallejo as she looks to the others in the room.
The more Chroknight talked and retorted, the more Gui was seeing sense in Ms. Vallejo's offer. The cape seems to have quickly boosted her self importance, for a couple days before she seemed quite a nice person and now she was acting like she was better than anyone else.
"I believe I am interested. Would it be possible for e tour to de plece? And what about de expenses and stuff like dat?" Would his parents be able to afford such a thing?
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Indarius leads Ms. Vallejo to the meeting room. "A moment please, seems one of our members forgot the keys to the base." with that he bound off towards the exit of Unity Station moving like a mass of liquid metal than a solid form.
Retrieving Empyrean he returns shortly, seeing the situation simmering.
"Excuse that, I believe everyone here is allowed to make their own decisions on weather to attend, or seek their guardians for further discussion. I would like to highly recommend that everyone at least tour the facilities being offered however before making any rash choices."
His body language suggests that was to the group as a whole, including the late Empyrean. "I have questions as to how you came upon any information in regards to teaching magical studies though. As a practitioner myself, I know just how rare the talent for the arcane is and despite my, guesses I'd like to know for sure whom you have teaching said classes."
He gestures with a whsipered word and twisted claw causing a tea set to appear with various flavors to choose from as well as a small charcuterie board with simple meats and cheese options as well as a minor spread of finger-food fruits.
Archie smiles at Chroknights rebellious attitude, yet his mind races.
As much as he doesn't want to go back to school, he knows it would be good for him. Maybe he could hone his powers. He'd never had anyone telling him how to use his powers for good, only people trying to profit. This could be a good step in the right direction for him, it at least might be fun.
"Gui raises a good point about money, I have plenty of it." Archie sets down a solid gold bar minted from the U.S. Federal Reserve on the table. "Unfortunately it'll disappear in about a day. My foster parents definitely don't have enough permanent money to afford a special school." Archie says to Ms. Vallejo.
Sam frowns at Chroknight's rebellious attitude, adding the use of power to mock another to a file of wrongs in her mental storage. As the questions of money comes up, she adds her own restrictions when it comes to tuition "Financial aid packages would also be a significant point of interest for my father and myself."
Devil Diva bares her teeth when she sees the familiar woman. "We've met before. She goes by Chicle. Remember when we fought the Slipknots, Indy? We captured Symphony, and this lady wanted to negotiate for her release before the police could apprehend her."
She turns to Vallejo. "Are the Slipknots some of the other 'students' in this school of yours? And who exactly runs this school?"
Ms. Vallejo -- Chicle -- smiles and inclines her head when DD points out her alias. "Hola, Senorita Diva. I'm delighted you remember me."
She smiles brightly at the swell of interest. "I didn't mention it yet? Thanks to the generous financial backing of our benefactors, there will be no cost to students or their families. You needn't worry about cost."
Looking at Gui, she adds, "And I have transportation waiting on street level if you're interested in taking a tour of the facility. It's not in Halcyon proper, which gives the students privacy and room to grow.
"I'm sure you'll find our professor of the mystic arts to be fully capable," she tells Indarius. "His name is Abram Mathers."
Chicle looks back to Devil Diva. "The Slipknots are not students, no. We have hired some competent administrators to oversee the school and make sure our instructors provide challenging, enriching courses."
She looks at everyone, including Chroknight. "So who would like a tour?"
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The subtle rumbling in Indarius's throat grows to a room shaking affair at the mention of one of 'Them'. He manages to steadily and slowly choose his next words though they are under a strained calm. The concrete floor continues to suffer for his tested patience however.
"Luckily, I have already graduated from Halcyon's Academy. I won't need ANY assistance from your faculty on my own professional arts. I will however, come along to tour with the rest of my team if they so choose."
"I see no harm in taking e look." Gui says, looking at Sam and Archie, who also have shown interest.
"Yeah, couldn't hurt. Besides, free fancy school sounds nice." Archie replies to Gui.
Max frowns at the mention of a Mathers, but the others seem to be interested, so she nods. ”Alright, we’ll take the tour.”
While everyone else was distracted by Chicle's spiel and her attention was off of Chroknight, Chloe had to run a couple emergency texts to Beebee.
Chloe: I can't tell everyone it's a terrible idea when everyone but me has gotten kicked out
Chloe: You ever heard of Daedalus before now? Hold on got to listen in, check back in a free second
"...you know what? A tour sounds lovely. I sure would love to see this super secret campus no one's heard of before and take lots and lots of pictures to post online. Right Deedee?" Chroknight calls out to Diva.
Empyrean thanks Indarius effusively for letting her back in, and follows him back to the assembly.
Empyrean settles her wings as best she can flat against her back and says, "Who is this tour supposed to convince?"