The next few seconds happened in a blur. The superheroines dropped down, accompanied by the rushing wind and buzzing beat of Scarab and Hornet’s respective flights. Cyberknight had no time to react to Lionheart, and the lance flew straight upwards in an unnatural telekinetically-accelerated arc before lodging between the bars of a fire escape. Hornet grabbed Grant effortlessly, flying horizontally away from the ensuing melee. But the man with the artificial arm ran after them, and in spite of any superpowered means of locomotion he caught up quickly in a most unexpected manner.<br/><br/>“Wait, stop!” the businessmen shouted at the woman carrying him. “That man’s my bodygua-”<br/><br/>With an audible snap of the augmented man’s fingers, Hornet quickly and irreversibly tumbled into the ground. Grant didn’t finish the sentence before being dropped, the wings of his carrier receding into her own body.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">DC 21 Perception</div><div class="spoiler_body">Grant’s bodyguard was able to nullify Hornet’s powers, although it appeared to have a secondary shock to her body beyond just the loss of wings.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">DC 26</div><div class="spoiler_body">Hornet’s wings receded into her body before he snapped his fingers. He also did the snap with his organic arm, so it’s not connected to his cybernetics.</div></div></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Hornet Will save 7 vs DC 21, Nullify Power. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=151392)<br/>Hornet Will save 22 vs DC 15 Affliction. (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=151393)</div></div><br/>“Stop, I surrender!” Cyberknight exclaimed, raising her hands above her head before Lionheart could take a second swing.<br/><br/>“Hornet!” Amrita exclaimed as she telekinetically wrapped the last standing villain in a tangle of cable wire. “Are you okay?!”<br/><br/>Hornet stood up as the bespectacled man immediately moved to tackle her, although an audible order from Grant caused him to stand down for now.<br/><br/>“Hold on, she was just trying to save me,” he said in a reassured tone before turning to Hornet. “First off, let me thank you for your rescue. Second off, forgive my retainer. One must act decisively in this line of business. You should get better soon”<br/><br/>“I get that, I’m okay,” Hornet responded as she rubbed her back several times. “Ummm, actually, do you think you can teach me how to uh... turn it off like that?”<br/><br/>Before they could talk more, the sound of an overhead chopper cut low. Grant looked up and sighed.<br/><br/>“Well, I’m afraid that these brutish fools took up too much of my time already. But I won’t forget what you all did for me, for Emerald City, tonight.”<br/><br/>Handing Lionheart a business card, the two men walked away towards a descending rope ladder, leaving them behind with Cyberknight. The supervillain remained silent, and Scarab merely stared at her.<br/><br/>“Gah, still new to this,” the psychic grunted as she shook her head.<br/><br/>“You should learn some new tricks,” Cyberknight responded. “Your powers and posture are a carbon copy of the Scarab’s. Try someone who doesn’t have decades’ worth of files on them.”<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Cyberknight Will save 23 resists (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=151394)<br/>Scarab Mind Reading 1st Try, 22 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=151395)<br/>Hero Point, 19 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=151396)<br/><br/>Cyberknight Metahuman Database Scan, 35 result (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=151397)</div></div><br/>Scarab winced. “Gee, now I know how it feels. Okay, let’s do this the old-fashioned way. What’d you want with Grant?”<br/><br/>“Loose lips get one killed in this line of work,” Cyberknight responded. “Let’s just say that Mr. Positive Publicity is who you should be going after if you’re worried about the Silver Storm. The Redshift Energies truck came from the labs of his company, after all...”<br/><br/><em>Feel free to use any social skills to try and win over Cyberknight, although torture (or the threat of it) isn’t very heroic and will likely earn a reprimand from your companions.</em><br/><br/>“We should check back with the others,” Hornet responded. “Leave them to the cops. I may need to hitch a ride, though. Trying to regrow back my wings, nothing’s working.”<br/><br/>“Sure thing,” Scarab replied.<br/><br/><em>Besides, your parents...friends too, must all be worried sick.</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><strong>Hot for Teacher</strong></span></span><br/>(https://i.imgur.com/F20B35S.png)</div><br/><strong>Hero Points:</strong>1 (everyone)<br/><br/>Amrita sighed as she did her best to smooth out her hair with just her hands. “S-sorry if I’m kinda all...weird lately. A lot of stuff’s been on my mind.”<br/><br/>She wasn’t back home. The three-bedroom apartment was roomy enough, and she opted to stretch out on the living room couch rather than sit up.<br/><br/>“Too early to sleep, but I just wanna lay down.”<br/><br/>The time on her smartphone read 7 AM. An hour before school started, a record that impressed even her parents. But they’d be something other than impressed if they knew the real reason for her early departure.<br/><br/>“I dunno, I’m not talking too much, am I?” Amrita asked as she rested her head on the lap of the couch’s other occupant, an older man who she normally met in Science class. She continued scrolling through her RSS feed, much of the apps more news and metahuman-related as of late. She put it down after settling on a celebrity gossip site, looking up at her teacher with a smile.<br/><br/>“Is it too early, you think? I really need someone to hold me...”<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><strong>School Daze</strong></span></span><br/><br/>(https://i.imgur.com/xtrjrhS.jpg?1)</div><br/>Scene Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsMrZfeuBkk)<br/><br/>An hour later school began, a relatively untouched beacon of normalcy in spite of all the big changes: William Orville Douglas High School, sitting upon the Southern Shore somewhere east of University Hill and north of Elysian Forest. Situated near residential housing where much of the staff lived, it managed that relatively cozy feel in spite of being in a big city. Throngs of students shuffled in by car, bus, or even bike; so many faces Lyn had seen before, but only a few of whose names she knew. The school itself was relatively undamaged, with only the southwest classrooms blocked off for renovation after various holdings and furniture got sucked up into the air as though pulled from their hinges by a miniature black hole.<br/><br/>The hallways were crowded, although there was a lingering tension as a few worried students called out for classmates.<br/><br/>“Alice?! Alice are you there?!”<br/><br/>“Hey, stop shouting like that! I just got in late.”<br/><br/>“Thank God, I thought you got attacked by one of those Stormers!”<br/><br/>“Did you see the news about the charity ball? Can’t believe there're supervillains in town now!”<br/><br/>“Well, not all of them seem like bad guys,” another replied. “Did you see the videos?”<br/><br/>It didn’t take long for Lyn to Google the results on her smartphone, look over someone else’s shoulder, or simply ask a friend. Shaky handheld shootage of Chlorophyll shepherding people to safety and Lionheart giving orders from last night’s charity ball were racking up hits on just about every major news and social media site. There was also another clip of Hornet flying past an office condominium while she was en route to the charity ball, and a third video of her, Scarab, and Lionheart traversing rooftops together taken from an apartment building.<br/><br/><em>This is sort of an “open hub” segment. Here you can give Evelyn a bit more character as to what she does and who she interacts with in her civilian identity. For help I can list her classmates below and brief personality types.</em><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button"> William O. Douglass, Year 3</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>Explanation of modern school cliques. (https://www.metroparent.com/daily/parenting/tweens-teens/categories-of-high-school-cliques-identified/)</strong><br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Girls</strong></div><br/><strong>Evelyn Eldridge: (https://i.imgur.com/jlrssl6.jpg) Lionheart (https://i.imgur.com/5xLrAZv.jpg) [Popular]:</strong> It’s you!<br/><strong>Amy Rogers: (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5f/76/48/5f76484a395af908b5dad46ca9f47eb1.jpg) Hornet (https://i.imgur.com/IqMzhfv.jpg?1) [Loner]:</strong> Parents work for a logging company, lives outside Emerald City proper. Keeps to herself after suffering a hit to her reputation about “helping an online scammer.”<br/><strong>Amrita Khatri: (https://i.imgur.com/xi8BX5B.jpg?1) Scarab (https://i.imgur.com/aiXQDpc.jpg) [Asian: Indian, Good-At]:</strong> One of Amy’s only friends.<br/><strong>Kaitlin Saito: (https://i.imgur.com/e09MdFD.jpg?1) H2GO! (https://i.imgur.com/OuaOEOr.jpg) [Asian: Japanese, Brain]:</strong> Shy and quiet, only really interacts with Amrita and Amy.<br/><strong>Leslie Stafford: (https://i.imgur.com/GOa3sZm.jpg) Chlorophyll (https://i.imgur.com/8YmMmxJ.jpg) [Popular]:</strong> Lyn’s best friend. Made it big when her YouTube song went viral.<br/><strong>Tanaka Michiko (https://i.imgur.com/05JJL0a.png) [Asian: Japanese, Emo/Goth]:</strong> Music nerd, but more into guitars. Had a falling out with Lez after being told by her agent that her tunes weren’t “genre-appropriate.”<br/><strong>Alison Middleton (https://i.imgur.com/AgYjLb5.jpg) [Anime/Manga]:</strong> Won’t shut up about her cosplay and fanfics. Constantly talks about how she wishes she could live in a “more interesting place,” like Freedom City, Atlantis, or Etheria.<br/><strong>Juana Castillo-Vargas (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/greatpretender/images/a/ae/Abby-airport.png/revision/latest?cb=20200618104830) [Latina: Mexican, Floater]:</strong> Joined various after-school electives and gaming Discord groups, but rarely stayed in one of them for more than a year. “I just go where my friends go, you know?”<br/><strong>Melanie Baker (https://i.imgur.com/0a6q0jt.jpg) [Druggie/Stoner]:</strong> Todd Baker’s sister, is quite hyperactive and bubbly. Classmates unsure how much of this is due to drugs.<br/><strong>Stacy Huang (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3f/15/cd/3f15cd7c8e3508c9fa1e3b715bef4183.jpg) [Asian: Chinese, Anime/Manga]:</strong> Only watches shows with “cute guys.” Is trying to become a big-time streamer after marathoning Final Fantasy XV.<br/><strong>Eliza Addington (https://cdn.donmai.us/original/53/39/__imai_lisa_bang_dream_drawn_by_sakamata__53393a083f093cd02013cf6841f9c966.png) [Popular]:</strong> Fellow cheerleader, has a muselike ability to inspire people, is well-liked as a result.<br/><strong>Emily Zhao (https://i.imgur.com/Y9G0igh.jpg?1) [Asian: Chinese, Floater]:</strong> Has a sweet ride. Sometimes co-pilots Stacy’s streams.<br/><br/><div align="center"><strong>Boys</strong></div><br/><strong>Rex Styer IV (https://i.imgur.com/KD2HvNo.png) [Popular]:</strong> Currently hospitalized. Son of rich venture capitalists, he’s the most popular boy in school.<br/><strong>Adolfo Tapia-Ibarra (https://i.imgur.com/ZreVHZx.jpg) [Latino: Mexican, Fine Arts]:</strong> Currently hospitalized. A sensitive and shy young man, the Tapia-Ibarra family are acquainted with the Eldridges as both attend the same church. Shares the same name as a famous Mexican wrestler, which has earned him no small amount of teasing from other Latino students.<br/><strong>Chris Terazzo (https://i.imgur.com/XW6Kcn8.png) [Brain]:</strong> Young, thin, and somewhat sickly, Chris is the stereotypical nerd minus the near-sightedness. Self-deprecated sense of humor but very self-conscious about his appearance.<br/><strong>Reyansh Saxena (https://i.imgur.com/HuVsmsN.jpg) [Asian: Indian, Brain]:</strong> Competes with Chris for the highest grades in class. Is a bit of a party animal, eager to wriggle out from under the thumb of strict parents.<br/><strong>Carson Cross (https://i.imgur.com/N2SWcm1.png) [Normal]:</strong> Has the same food every lunch, plays the same video games and hasn’t bought a new one in 2 years, never goes on field trips. Seems to be trying hard to be the most boring boy in school.<br/><strong>Daniel Hughes (https://i.imgur.com/pAe7DEK.jpg) [Anime/Manga]:</strong> Runs the school’s Anime Club. Others still aren’t letting him live down the time he was caught masturbating to hentai in the locker room.<br/><strong>Eric Renhardt (https://i.imgur.com/u13MtqL.jpg) [Emo/Goth]:</strong> Dresses all-black, his social media posts are littered with existentialist poetry and quotes. Is actually kind of a dork IRL.<br/><strong>Alejandro Varelas (https://i.imgur.com/OnwJnOA.jpg) [Latino: Puerto Rican, Jock]:</strong> Star player for the school basketball team, the Sockeyes (named after the indigenous Washington salmon). Is very confident and outgoing, seems a bit too happy all the time.<br/><strong>Eddie Liao (https://i.imgur.com/rpt2GfL.png) [Asian: Chinese, Good-At]:</strong> Obsessed with Skyrim/Elder Scrolls lore, social media posts are filled with selfies in natural scenery.  <br/><strong>Todd Baker (https://i.imgur.com/iWL7Lo6.png) [Druggie/Stoner]:</strong> Is popular because he’s on good terms with a local weed dealer. Kind of a dick otherwise.</div></div>