<strong>Hero Points:</strong>3 (Lionheart), 2 (Scarab), 2 (Hornet), 1 (H2GO!), 1 (Chlorophyll).<br/><br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=318851.msg15385761#msg15385761">Quote from: Autocad on 26-04-2020, 17:01:01</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote"><br/>She looked up and took in the transformed - except for Rita - visages of her friends, still recognizable yet at the same time bizarre and metahuman and... changed, like herself. She tried swishing her new tail experimentally... and then poofed Amy in the face with it. "You deserved that!" She stuck her tongue out. "So you're like a queen bee or something? With your own hive? Can you control the swarm?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Hmmm, lemme try..." Amy stared at the bees and made some buzzing sounds with her mouth. The bees flew to the ground, crawling around aimlessly.<br/><br/>"Huh, guess I can."<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Turning to Rita she continued, "You got psychic powers right? Like Professor Xavier or something but without the wheelchair!"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"Y-yeah, something like that," Amrita responded, scratching her head. "It'll take a bit to explain, though."<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">Finally trying to lift Kate's slump over getting the short end of the stick, she tried to cheer her up, "Your skin is all moist and glistening! Like an amphibian... uh... you probably have a bunch of powers that you just need to master that were inside you all along!"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Kaitlin smiled a bit. "Hah, maybe I won't have to worry about pimples anymore."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Lez! We were worried about you!" Lyn looked up at the prisoner trapped behind the giant tree branch. "I guess you had it all under control, huh? Well, guess what? We all got superpowers too!"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>“Woah, nice,” Leslie responded. “I totally dig the animal look you all got going, too!”<br/><br/>The redhead dashed on over to her group of peers, looking over each of them. “Lyn the Lion, Amy the Bug, Kate the Frog, and Rita the...ummm…”<br/><br/>“How about you call me Scarab?”<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Expertise: Superheroes or Pop Culture DC 15, Medieval History DC 12</div><div class="spoiler_body">Scarab was the name of a former Freedom League member, active from the 1950s to late 70s before dying in battle against the Scions of Sobek. Said superhero has been known to reincarnate in various forms throughout history, based on a 60 Minutes interview.<br/><br/><em>Although the Freedom League is notable, Scarab’s legacy is a bit before Generation Z’s time and said character may not be as recognizable save to the more learned.</em><br/><br/><strong>Medieval History:</strong> A figure with a similar title was said to be a powerful Byzantine sorcerer during the early 13th century. Knights sacking Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade reported seeing a red and gold armored figure breaking apart ranks of soldiers using unseen forces, admonishing “Men of Christ for coveting their neighbors’ wealth.”</div></div><br/>Upon closer inspection, Lyn noticed that Leslie had a thin translucent layer of vegetation growing around her arms, legs, and torso.<br/><br/>“So I take it you control plants?” Amy asked.<br/><br/>The imprisoned woman above spat in the direction of the group. “Don’t think I’ll forget this!” she shouted. “We live in a world of iron and stone, this zoo but a museum to nature’s lost glory! You will grow weak and frail like the smog-sick forests, imprisoned in my tomb of iron will!”<br/><br/>Amy shivered, covering her face. “Oh shit, she sounds dangerous! Is she one of those supervillains like in that Freedom City documentary?”<br/><br/>“I think...she was recently activated, like us…” Kaitlin stuttered.<br/><br/>“Don’t talk as though I’m not here!” the lady shouted.<br/><br/>Leslie looked back up at her. “Say cheese!”<br/><br/>She whipped out her phone, but no flash emerged.<br/><br/>“What the-” she exclaimed. “Oh man, I had the<em>perfect</em>pose all lined up, too!”<br/><br/>“Phones don’t work,” Amy said. “Else we’d have called the cops a long time ago.”<br/><br/>Amrita cleared her throat. “This is too big for us all, but we should drop them in a place the police’ll find them. Then we need to get somewhere safe.”<br/><br/>She sighed. “Mom and Dad are probably worried sick.”<br/><br/>Kaitlin murmured as Amy went over to hug Amrita. Leslie huffed and folded her arms. “Y-yeah, and Ms. Hallowbrooks and the rest of class, too.”<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/w2TEdzb.png?1)</div>The girls made sure to drop off the trio of supervillain newcomers at a crosswalk near where nearby police sirens could be heard. All around them the city streets were empty; cars clogged up the road, some broken, melted, or fused together. Others had doors open from people who decided to escape on foot. Although still tense, the hurried breaths of Lyn’s friends subsided to a worried yet slower pace, as did their more apparent physical changes. Lyn’s ears and tail seemingly absorbed back into her body, as did Amy’s more insectile features. Kaitlin’s skin returned to its normal complexion, while Leslie’s clinging vines and moss sloughed off her in clumped-together patches.<br/><br/>“That’s weird,” Amy remarked. “Is it...temporary?”<br/><br/>Before they could re-test any powers, Leslie pointed over to a rushing figure. “Hold your super-skills, civvie at 10 o’clock!”<br/><br/>It was Ms. Hallowbrooks, crying tears of joy as she hurried over to their position, stumbling from visible fatigue around newly-formed potholes and fallen streetlights.<br/><br/>“You’re all safe!” she cried. “Thank God!”<br/><br/>“Ms. Hallowbrooks!” Amy waved. “We’re glad to see yo-”<br/><br/>A breast-shoving hug from the taller woman interrupted Amy’s train of thought.<br/><br/>“I...I thought something terrible happened...sniff... after that crazy flying metahuman started tearing up the zoo!”<br/><br/>“There there,” Amrita said as she patted her teacher on the back. “How’s the rest of the class doing?”<br/><br/>“They’re in an emergency shelter,” Ms. Hallowbrooks answered as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Come on, we’ll get through this…”<br/><br/><hr/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 24pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><strong>Aftermath</strong></span></span></div><br/>Scene Music (Someday- 4:25) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoX6zS5-jOY)<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/4K4XRzk.jpg?1)</div>"This is Caleb Gardner with Channel 12 Eyewitness News. What is now known as the Silver Storm is theorized by experts to be an artificial creation..."<br/><br/>“Storm’s epicenter traced to a Redshift Energies truck at the intersection of Yellow Brick Road...”<br/><br/>"...spokespeople for Redshift have declined to comment..."<br/><br/>"...casualties are estimated in the thousands, over 100 still missing..."<br/><br/>"...Dr. Wang Xiu Ying says that Emerald City may be the new metahuman capital of the United States..."<br/><br/>Garrett Eldridge, Lyn’s father, sat glued to the television, a device the rest of the family besides him rarely used in favor of online media save for the regular football game. He rarely stayed on one channel before flipping to another.<br/><br/>Alicia Eldridge, Lyn’s mother gave her a hug. “He’s been like this all day, dear. When he’s ready to talk, I’ll let you know.”<br/><br/>Soft rain pattered on the skylight overlooking the kitchen. Between the rainclouds and overhanging branches obscuring the sunlight, the home’s interior was as dark as dusk. The adjacent dining room had several plates of freshly-made cheese sandwiches and orange juice, well in excess of three people.<br/><br/>“Leslie and some of your friends came over before you got up,” Alicia said. “Can you bring it down to them?”<br/><br/>Leslie, Kaitlin, Amy, and Amrita were in the basement of the Eldridge household. Normally Garrett’s Man Cave, it could comfortably fit five girls around a pool table. Leslie was already raiding the mini-fridge next to a nervous-looking Kaitlin, while Amy and Amrita were setting up a portable projector that could only have been obtained from school.<br/><br/>“Aha, this is where you got the good stuff!” Leslie exclaimed as she handed a beer can to Kaitlin.<br/><br/>“Errr, maybe we should ask before drinking...oh hi Lyn! We weren’t-we were just looking around and-”<br/><br/>“We all need to talk about...what happened,” Amrita interrupted.<br/><br/>Leslie and Kaitlin fell silent.<br/><br/>“Yeah, I suppose so,” Amy murmured. “Sorry it had to be your house. Lez said it was the most private place she could think of…”<br/><br/>“We were lucky the first time,” Amrita said, flipping on the projector. Images flickered on the nearby wall, showing sections of ruined city; people in hospitals with decidedly abnormal mutations ranging from animal limbs to rubber-like bodies; a CNN headline reading<em>METAHUMAN STORM STRIKES EMERALD CITY.</em><br/><br/>“So...did any of your powers activate since?” Kaitlin asked Lyn. “Mine...came back a few times, and I had to hide it from my parents by pretending to be on my period in the bathroom.”<br/><br/>“It’s gonna sound weird,” Leslie said, “but I can...see through plants now. I told my parents I was okay but my personal physician still did a lookover. He found nothing.”<br/><br/>She giggled. “You should have seen me trying to get my bodyguard Antonio off my back! I had to wear a disguise and a mask just so no fans would recognize me on the way here!”