INVICTUS || .ic [CLOSED]

[fieldbox="VICTORY, #242424, solid, 10"]

Sig nodded as Vyla spoke, her method making sense in theory. Applied, however, may yield a different result. She agreed with Esfir's adjustments to the plan, her hands twitching as she looked for the nearest ring. If she could simply block whatever came at those reaching for the ring, perhaps they could figure out how this simulation actually worked. It would be much more simple if a handful of them could hit the ring at once and all receive a point for it.

"I'm the one referred to as Victory." Sig replied to Seier's question, struggling to contain a grin at the girl's crude way of speaking. At this moment Sig's eyes caught on a shining ring that was on the street below them. Ruffling her wings in anticipation, she gesture toward it with one slender arm. "That ring may be a prime candidate for our little experiment. I'll go down to trigger whatever trap is awaiting us and then Seier and myself can combat it while the others task themselves with reaching the ring."

Nodding to herself, Sig then moved to stand on the edge of the building. Her metal boots scraped unpleasantly as she pushed off of the ledge and into the air. Arms resting lazily above her, she waited until she was only a few feet from the ground to snap out her wings. A small twinge rang thorough her wings as she did so, the strain of watching her own weight taking a toll on her wings. As her feet reached the ground, three shadowy figures appeared. One held a spear, one a gun, while the other clutched a bow and arrow. Sig couldn't help but smile at the challenge.

"I've got them distracted." Sig called out to the people above, stepping back as the spearman took a stab at her. Her hands wrapped around the shadowy spear and yanked it to the side, her foot striking the shadowy figure's stomach. Her combat style was fluid, almost comparable to a dancer's as she dodged various attacks aimed her way. She continued to advance in small movements towards the ring, to keep the shadowy figure's attention as though she was really aiming to try and touch it.
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adamkane-png.152672

Adam Kane code named Akira

Storm suddenly got short with Adam, it was to be expected after all he did just give away a part of the test. "sorry Storm, like i said it's been a rough morning." He saw that light shine in Storm's eyes as he got an idea, he jumped on the phone to call Sable inside the training room. He offered a remedy for Adam's sudden outburst. "thanks Storm, i appreciate you covering for me. sounds good, i'll definitely help out." He looked up and out at the new recruits, "i agree with your thoughts on minimal effort as well." he looked at his hand then at the Storm and Arisha. "if we were to get serious, their wouldn't be any recruit left alive."

Adam looked over to Arisha who was being somewhat quiet since he arrived. He though maybe he spoiled a mood by being there. "How about it Arisha? Me, you and Storm jump in on this little training session?" He asked expecting a positive response from Her. He looked down at the recruits who were now working together, to get the mission completed. "well if we're gonna do it we better do it now. They almost got all the rings."

@Valor @Tarieles @Dao Ma
 
[bg=#000000][fieldbox="Jasper Lin, #bfbfbf, solid, 4, Courier New"]Jasper wore an expression of faint amusement as Gabe recounted the tragic tale of his simulation-breaking accident. Before he could offer any words of sympathy or encouragement, however, the other agent seemed to spontaneously brighten up, briefly regaining his enthusiasm, only to just as quickly return to a dejected state. Thankfully, Jasper was saved from the daunting task of keeping pace with Gabe's conversational agility by Rostam's surprisingly sociable query. "Not for the time being, no," he replied, glancing over at the robe-clad magician. "Which is somewhat unusual."

He very slightly raised an eyebrow as Gabe immediately put forth a theory.
"That's a fairly large inductive leap," Jasper noted. The Investigations agent pondered the conjecture for a bit, then noncommittally added, "Though not necessarily an incorrect one. Gnomes do tend to be tenacious, and it's possible that the previous operation didn't fully eliminate them." His gaze slid in the direction of the currently-occupied simulation room. "Whatever it is, I hope the new arrivals are sufficiently prepared. Proper coordination can be rather difficult."[/fieldbox][/bg]
 
DOCTOR BAUMANN​
The wolf introduced himself as Wu Huiyin and mentioned a preferred moniker. Bobby was an easy name to remember along with attaching to a face like the agent. Then, Venn spoke up, skipping through the usual greeting (as usual). It seemed like lunch would be spent fixing up equipment. Before Draeger responded, a strange feeling engulfed the doctor, causing him to search for the source in question. Low and behold, it seemed like this was the work of Bobby as a phone floated towards him and into his hands. The screen was badly cracked, "cutting" into the gravure idol on the phone's background. "Not a problem, Bobby. I'll have the screen replaced for you by the end of the day! As for you, Venn..." Draeger turned off the screen and slipped it into his coat's chest pocket.

Before the scientist could properly address the psychic, Bobby made an observation about Draeger. A snort sounded out as Venn chimed in on the matter. As he closed his eyes, a second set of eyelids closed horizontally before the first set closed his eye completely. "My my, you both are quite lively." Moving towards Venn, Draeger took the gloves out of the other's hand and looked over them. These gloves have seen better days… "Hmm… how long have you had this pair? It appears you may need a replacement for them. It'd take a few days, but I can use a material that's sturdy against wear and tear while feeling like there's nothing there. Then, I can send them off to an artificer in M&O to etch you some new seals."

Out of the blue, a fourth and fifth guest appeared in his lab. It was none other than Amaranth and little Olivine. Pocketing the worn gloves, Draeger gave a cheerful wave. But, he slightly recoiled when he heard a familiar tone. Even if the "mom tone" wasn't directed at him, Draeger was shaken up. "Hey Amaranth! How are you and little Olivine doing?"" Draeger reached out his false hands towards the child, wondering if she'd grab on to his finger. "If there's nothing else you want to discuss, then I'll see you in a few days about the gloves, Venn. Bobby, do you want me to send your phone to your room once it's done? Or, do you want to pick it up later on in the evening?"
 
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[fieldbox="Magical Girl, #242424, solid, 10"]
Waltzing down the halls with their head hung low, staring at a book, was none other than the supervisor of the Magic and Occult branch. Her cape moved as if it were taking breaths. It moved in and out, against the flow of wind, and was not at all in tune with Yun's steps. Many tried to steer clear of her cape as they passed her, but what they really tried to steer clear of was the trail of crap magically following her. There were books, disgusting creatures stuck in jars, and even beautiful creatures moping inside jars. Hell, Yun was prepping experiments as she walked, creatures being lifted and crushed so their blood dripped into a bottle or tickled so their laughter inspired the magic inside them to activate.

Yun eventually found what she was trying to gather from the book and closed it. She carelessly tossed it in the line of crap behind her that was about five feet long. Then with a simple wave of her hand her phone flew out of her pocket and into her hand. "Now, let me see what I have today..." She said with a long yawn. Yun scrolled for a while, grunting and mumbling in response to what she read. She then tucked her phone away like a normal person only to find a snake had snuck out of her pocket and onto her arm. "Not now. We can play later. Back you go." Yun said as she stopped and lowered the snake to her waist where it wrapped around her like a belt. "Looks like it'll be a pretty easy day. Thank goodness. I can go slack off then." Yun said with a smile as she hurried to her room to drop off her stuff.​
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Sable Elias Mereworth


"Fight me if you wish, but know I am old for a reason."
x

Sable was quite proud of these new recruits. They seemed to be able to formulate a plan quickly enough. He scribbled a few more things on his paper, before jumping a bit at the sound of his phone. He wasn't really expecting anyone to call. He looked at the caller ID, and a heavy sigh escaped his lips. He answered the call, but didn't get a chance to speak before Storm started.

"Red rover?" He asked quizzically, having not heard of that. His brow furrowed as Storm began to explain. He wasn't thrilled with the idea as of yet. They weren't supposed to interfere in their training until after the rings. He huffed a bit, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't worried about Storm hurting the trainees, but he was definitely worried about the other two. He knew they wouldn't be as steeled.

"Fine. We can add a challenge." He said, listening to him talk about opening the doors. So it was no going back. He hadn't been disconnected, so he lowered his voice a bit. "But I swear on everything I stand for, if any of you badly hurt them you will have me to answer to. Is that understood?" His voice practically growled, a window into his true nature behind his caring attitude. Without waiting for a response, he hung up, and looked to the group. He held his hand up and waved at them to get their attention.

"Excuse me. Before you fly off on your heroics. We are going to take a moment to pause the simulation. Our other handler has decided to implement phase two." He lied, deciding to leave out the bit where this next part was completely pulled out of thin air. They already probably thought that he and Storm were incredibly unprepared, no need to add fuel to that fire.

"The traps and simulated enemies will be taken out of the simulation. Instead, you will be fighting for your rings against myself, Agent Storm Kelly, and two other agents who will be helping us. We won't be attacking you with everything we have, obviously, but please feel free to come at us with everything you have." He gave a look to Seier. "However we do enjoy staying in this dimension." He added, waiting for Storm to get into the simulation.

He still wasn't sure about having the two help. He hoped his threat was enough to keep them in line, but there were always accidents, especially with powers they couldn't control fully. Sable knew that personally.​
 
[fieldbox="Venn Charles - INDIE, #242424, solid, 10"]
Feeling a disturbance in the air around him, Venn looked over to the yaoguai create a little spear of wind and pass it over to Draeger. It was interesting to see, compared to just being told about it. Seeing powers in action were always amusing to Venn, despite his perma-grumpy expression. As Draeger addressed Huiyin and took both the phone and his gloves, he just kind of let the conversations continue on until he was directly addressed. "I've had 'em for a few years." He replied as he looked at them. More than his years in INVICTUS, definitely. They'd been through a lot and saved his ass more times than he could count. Who knew what kind of evil spirit could have hijacked his body if he weren't wearing them?

The mention of getting new gloves with even newer enchantments was relieving. "That'd be great, actually." He mumbled. He just hoped that any future mission wouldn't involve them if they were going to be out of commission. He didn't expect INV to send him underprepared, but... who knew which missions handlers had a sick sense of humor.

His attention went to the new figures in the room. He nodded a small hello to Mara, then just kind of stared and scrunched his nose at Olivine. Though they were all being chastised for their cursing, Venn's seemed to be spared from the direct mother scolding. But even though Mara started to leave, Venn wasn't ignored. He looked back at her when she called his name. "Wheelhouse...?" He muttered, furrowing his brow some but then shrugged. "Sure, what do you need?"

Just then there was a small fiery explosion sound from the hall outside of the r&d labs. Instantly Venn whipped his head around to see what the commotion was about. Without much thought, he pushed his way passed Mara and Olive to check the hall. "Stay here." he hissed to them, slipping through the doors.

The hall was filled with smoke and it bellowed through the sliding doors as they opened. He instantly covered his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and crouched. Besides the sound of something on fire in the distance, there was a defined scratching tinktinktink sound scurrying across the floor. 'The fuck?' he thought, but it was too smoky to actually see what it was.

He could hear yelling from further down the hall and an alarm started to go off along with the emergency sprinklers.​
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@Alibaba @Shizuochan @rissa
 
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[fieldbox="Wu Huiyin, #242424, solid, 10"]
Draeger's words were as if a decree from the highest of bodhisattva's upon Huiyin's unworthy ears. For but a moment, the diminutive researcher was a larger-than-life persona in the yaoguai's eyes, the savior of his cellular device and - indeed - roughly ninety-five percent of his amusement within the Invictus facility.

"I will come pick up. Thank you. So much. You are… like Bubblegum Angel." Bubblegum Angel, trancepop, peaked #7 on the Charts - year 2139. Track: timeless, if a bit formulaic. Wu Huiyin's comprehension of the term: questionable.

He turned away from his savior to hear the chidings of the red-headed one. Noticeably fae - cheek and ear structure, the runic tattoos that escaped his comprehension. Shame overwhelmed him. Being chided for language was one thing, but the thought of the fae on a swimsuit calendar had reached through the crevices of his mind; a tinge of guilt like a dagger in his back, his subconscious the Brutus.

"Fuck, sorry." A respectful, apologetic nod, the yaoguai ignorant of his latest faux pas.

Missing the social cue and opportunity to excuse himself from the conversation, he stood idly as the rest of the group continued - feeling distinctly out of place.

The explosion then, was perhaps a blissful reprieve. He - ignoring Venn's direct instructions - followed the psychic, expanding his sphere of influence to cover his compatriot, reducing the burdens of friction and resistance within.

"Stay with me. Move fast now. Let's go, go."​
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[fieldbox="Work., #242424, solid, 10"]

"Oh, I see." Rostam said coolly. He then turned his attention to Gabe as Jasper developed on his accusation of the gnomes. His reaction was odd though. He was more worried about what the future held than the current situation, but he was more optimistic about the future than Rostam could ever be, in his mind the weak would be sorted out and the strong would live on, no hope in worrying about those who would and would not. To him it was wasted brain power to dwell on these things - despite the fact that he did. "Well, gnomes, they, it, or whatever are pretty stupid to mess with a group this big. INVICTUS doesn't like trouble much."

Just then his phone started to go off, it buzzed wildly, barely pauses between each bvvvr. He stared down at his pocket where the phone continued to go off before picking it up and seeing a whole list of assignments. The person who assigned them? Dr. Yun, his mother. "Neither do I." Rostam said with a glare as he squeezed his phone. "I have some work to take care of, looks like it'll be a while. I'll be in the M&O lab." Rostam turned on his heels and headed for the lab. He seemed rather involved in his phone and just as he turned the corner a gust of wind enveloped him before he muttered some magical word, inaudible to the two, and soared off to the lab. Upon arriving he'd see his old lab, the coat rack where his mother would hang her clothes, and the vast open space that was the M&O lab.

People were moving books all over the place and there was no end to the animals around him. Everything had something special to offer the magical world, even something so detached from the arcane as humans. Magic was a binding force, that's what he was taught, it's also why it's so easy to repair items rather than make new ones and why he was glad that was the reason he was here. Chanting spells and conjuring the magical energy around him into an item would be a cinch, but as he looked at the pile on his old desk he cringed. "What the hell is this mother?" Rostam mumbled as he stomped over to his lab.

Reaching the enchantment table where all the items were laid out, he picked things up and tossed them around, sorting them loosely. It was mostly weapons, but some magic finders and other miscellaneous like that. He then sorted out items that granted some kind of speed boost and set those aside, they were closest to the magic he was skilled with, so they were the easiest. He'd do them last. The busier he was, the more excuses he had for not accepting more work. He then looked at all the shiny brand new weapons and whistled. "R&D is no joke, they get shit done."

"We'd get a lot more done if you were still around." Said a female from behind Rostam. He didn't need to look to know who it was, it was Cynthia, who the heck else would it be. She stared at his back before walking off and going to her work.

Rostam then pulled a stool up and began the enchantment process.

I hate this place, so much.

The enchantment failed.
[/fieldbox]\

@Dao Ma @Eryian
 
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[fieldbox="Yee-haw, #242424, solid, 10"]

Santa had finally gotten back and finished his report. Without hesitation he switched on his choo-choo train and shrunk to a size big enough to fit in the conductor seat. He floated gracefully down from his seat onto the top of the train and that is when he saw it -- that beast. He rolled down into the cars and grabbed a miniature duffel bag, full of miniature dart guns. He then ran to the front of the train as it got closer to it. He could see it in full now: Winnie the Pooh. He cocked the gun and shot at the stuffed animal rapidly before he was forced on his butt as the train took a sharp incline up the wall, giving him a chance to land on the fan above. As it neared the ceiling, about to veer left and into the bathtub, Santa leaped onto the spinning blades of the fan.

Instantly he was surrounded by action figures, but with deadly precision he shot each one off and ran to the base of the blades to grab the crystal. He laughed and took a seat, watching the blades spin. He wouldn't have much to do for the rest of the day, but he heard there were new recruits aboard, he wouldn't want to cause a fuss. But, fate had other plans. A little metallic patter swept above him. It got his attention, obviously, and he stood up with his dart gun at the ready.

"What was that?" He muttered to himself. Again he heard the pitter patter of little metallic legs and proceeded to take a step back, but forgot about the blades of the fan and instead was knocked across the room. As he flew he could only regret his mistakes until a swarm of metal spiders leaped out the ventilation shafts and provided a bridge to the floor. He slid down them with style shouting, "Ho, ho, ho!" When he reached the ground the spiders stopped and analyzed Santa. They deemed the tiny man not a threat until mistook the spiders for toys and shot his dart gun at them. "Take that." He said triumphantly as he blew off the "smoke" from his gun. Their eyes glared red as they lunged on him, but Santa cocked his fist back. "Not today evil doers! Santa Punch!" Despite only hitting one, he packed the force of a choo-choo train into his arm and launched them like a wave of scrap metal. Though, many survived and escaped through the wall he created in his room. "Oops." He said as he hopped on a spider and desperately tried to catch the rest.

People scattered as they saw the spiders, some blasted at them, forcing Santa to veer his spider up walls to dodge them. He was so small they could barely see him, so he made just his head bigger to show he was there. This did two things: First, it scared the living hell out of everyone who saw it and second it got his spider back on the ground where he reduced his head to normal size (considering his current size). "Ho, ho, hoo boy..." He said nervously as he pulled down his santa hat, but while he did this the machines ducked into the ventilation shaft and Santa continued to hang on, more confused at this point. He had now figured these were no mere toys, but what they actually were was still up for debate. If they were rogue machinery it was best to smash them, if they were allied machinery it was best to round them up. Choices.

Though, whatever the case, Santa was having a blast riding his little machine and eventually the giant swarm started to divide, Santa's particular bunch scurried through Doctor Bauman's office. The little man was having too much fun to realize where he was and shouted, "Ho, ho, ho!" Once more as he passed through.
[/fieldbox]

@Alibaba @Dao Ma @Shizuochan @rissa
 
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Atticus James Quinn


"Today only comes once."
x

Teamwork wasn't exactly Atticus' strong suit, but he had to admit, the current plan would definitely be interesting to try out. He nodded along, looking to their handler as he answered his phone. The air around him seemed to go very dark for just a moment, just before he hung up. Atticus listened to his explanation, suddenly feeling worse about succeeding in this. Traps and computer programs could be stopped with decent knowledge of how they worked. These people... He didn't even know what they were, let alone what they were capable of. The thought made Atticus sigh, but he looked to the brand new girl, the witch, and nodded towards her.

"I'm Crisis." He told her, rubbing the back of his neck absentmindedly. "And now we need a new plan." He muttered, looking around for the rest of the higher up agents. He knew a few senior and junior agents, and a lot of them were cocky and overconfident. They liked to show off, and they would enter a room as if everyone should know who they were. He envied the people to tell them they had never heard of them. Hearing the one yell from the control room only cemented his thoughts that these were overconfident blowhards. Powerful, absolutely, but puffed up.

"Well, if we're to fight, I assume its only skill versus skill? Anyone using weapons against unarmed and unprepared individuals with no possibility to arm themselves would be quite unfair." Not that the ex-mercenary had anything to say. He had killed plenty of unarmed people, beaten down those who had no ability to protect themselves. But he assumed an association such as this wouldn't be quite as dishonorable.​
 
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Seier Rose
Seier briefly acknowledged Sig and Atticus, before her attention was turned to Sable, the man who seemed to be handling the simulation. It was annoying to her that they would change the game halfway through. Nevertheless, Seier was prepared to do anything and everything she could to come out on top. There was no room for error, and she sure as hell wasn't going to make a fool of herself on her first damn day.

She looked to Sable as he spoke to her directly, her eyes intensely set on the red-haired man, "Then tha poor soul who faces me'll need tae keep their shabby pig-shite arse out a' my fuckin' way. Ah stop fer no obstacles!" She spoke aggressively, and straightened her jacket out, popping the collar a bit.
Seier intended to show off every bit of strength she had- and despite her harsh threat, she would honestly try her best to not accidentally rocket someone into another dimension. And hopefully, she could manage to keep herself stable enough to not cause a dimensional bomb. No one needed to end up like her mother did. Seier was determined to not put any more deaths or disappearances under her belt, but she was just as determined to prove that she was a force to be reckoned with and not some weak child.

The only problem Seier faced was the fact that she knew nothing about any of these people- their powers were a mystery to her. And if these were the novice recruits, then she assumed that the full-blown INVICTUS members were made of terrifying skills and strengths.

I need to keep a cool head. Ah dunna want my cause of death tae be because these disorganized arsepieces see me as a fuckin' murderer. Maybe I should'nae threatened the red-head...

She frowned a bit, wishing she could've thought before she'd spoken.

Oh well. Ah've just got tae roll with it. No turnin' back now.
 
[fieldbox="Ꮢ Ꭼ Ꮑ Ꭼ Ꮆ Ꭺ Ꭰ Ꭼ, #242424, solid, 10"]
The grizzled reconnaissance agent stood casually still as Kelly confirmed her statements, her eyes remaining plastered against the vibrant simulation monitors. When the control room doors whirred open once more to reveal another figure, Arisha's eyes finally lurked away from the screen, darting to the raven haired man. She failed to return his greetings before his sudden outburst, who seemed quite invested in the recruits' simulation training despite having shown up late.

Before Arisha could say anything, her attention was piqued by Kelly once again, this time suggesting that she and Adam join the simulation as an opposing force. "Making us do your dirty work, huh?" Arisha teased, though it didn't take extrasensory abilities for Storm to probably extract the tidbits of excitement that crept through her voice. Arisha was well-versed in simulation training, but opportunities like this to train with other people didn't come very often.

Shrugging out of the straps of a dark hued backpack, the agent unceremoniously dropped the bag onto the floor, a heavy, metal thud echoing briefly as Kelly's red panel lights transitioned to green. From the bag, Arisha finally summoned her most prized possession: a gunmetal gray helmet with streaks of crimson outlining the bottom edges of the unit. In the next few moments she slid the helmet over her head, the futuristic, military helmet betraying her prim and proper attire.

The darkness within the helmet eventually evolved into complete translucence as the military glass transferred external imagery into her heads up display. The helmet fed an absurdly high definition image to her eyes, making it easy to forget her helmet's existence. On the glass, a litany of information drew over her display.

Experimental Armor Special Warfare Suit Model B Active
Systems loading...
Agent Identity Confirmed and Authorized...
Welcome, RENEGADE.

MISSING!: Hydraulics, External power,
ALERT!: Armor temperature, pressure and Warp drive systems inactive.

Sapphire gemstones were replaced by a set of crimson, glowing eyes as the helmet came active. "Ready when you are." Arisha marched off to the simulation doorway, removing one of the simulation pistols from the rack before heading inside. The dark control room was met by the vibrant colors produced by the simulation room. Her heads up display immediately picked out the recruits as unregistered entities, red crosshairs marking them as potential targets.

Time to see what the greenies were made of.
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[fieldbox="C O N D U I T, #242424, solid, 10"]
Whatever confidence Vyla had that she might have a slight chance of not doing absolutely terrible today quickly sunk away as soon as the red-haired dude announced that they'd now be coming to personally manhunt them. Awesome.

So now we have to get a bajillion rings... and not get destroyed on a molecular level. ...Yay???

Part of her was still determined, but when a panic-filled situation hit Vyla, it made her have thoughts that were more lazy as opposed to filled with fear. Part of her, at this point, just wanted to go back to her room and have a shower (probably whilst crying a little on the inside) and then beg the cafeteria for as much of that honeycomb ice cream as they'd allow her to have. Then maybe a cry a bit whilst eating the ice cream, a-

Ugh, no... if I wanna ever have a chance of surviving here, then...

Widening her eyes a little as the girl she assumed was Scottish directly swore and screamed at the mentors. At first, Vyla wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the fact the girl had taunted the people that were going to be against them, but suddenly, it hit Vyla. Would doing something like that give her the confidence boost she needed? She at least had to try...!

Gritting her teeth, Vyla clenched both of her fists, puffed out her chest, and used a sudden burst of confidence to try and shoo her doubts away.
"Y-Yeah, fine! I bet you changed the rules because you knew we were gonna win, ye' bastards!" Vyla burst out. This sort of attitude wasn't like her at all, as if she'd latched on to Seier's confidence for a brief moment, "If you guys can hear me, then bring it on! I know... Kung-Fu, and... shit?!"

Instantly seeming to settle down back into her usual self after that, Vyla bit her lip as butterflies began to fly about in her stomach. Crap! She hadn't meant to be that stupidly loud and confident. Doing that hadn't helped her stop panicking at all, especially considering she didn't actually know Kung-Fu. Was she super dead now? Probably... though, at least maybe the others would be able to get their rings whilst she distracted some others by running for her life screaming.

Catching the name of the guy who seemed to be able to stop metal arrows, 'Crisis', the rugged-looking dude was right. They certainly needed a new plan, because bouncing a metallic Esfir across the simulation was probably no longer the #1 plan when the pros were going to be lurking around the arena, probably looking to see how much they could annihilate a rookie without getting told off.

"Um... I don't think we can just ignore them and run away. They probably have super speed... times a million, so if we're actually gonna fight those guys with our trippy-ass power thingies, c-can we stick together and roam around, smashing as many rings as we can?" Vyla began quietly, wiping a couple of remaining beads of sweat from her forehead as she took a long gulp. "U-uhm, I'm not sure if I said already... but, I'm Vyla. I don't even wanna tell you my codename because I kinda think it's shitty... so just call me Vyla, yea? My, um, 'power'... is really dumb... I sort of need someone else to be nearby and use their own powers, otherwise I can't use it... and even then..." Vyla's lack of enthusiasm or confidence for her power was clearly showing as she glanced at the floor.

"Well... either way... I'll try my best not to be a dead weight," With that, Vyla suddenly took a deep breath, before timidly yelling: "I'll start prepping my abilities; I bet they'll be coming soon! Just ignore me if I start saying weird shit, that's just a... thing. H-Here goes!"

[glow=grey]* Zzznnn- *[/glow]

Suddenly and rather alarmingly, all of the colour seemed to drain away from Vyla's skin, hair, and pupils, leaving all of them a bright and completely colourless white. The expression on Vyla's face turned into one that was completely neutral, as if the girl was sleep walking, her mouth half-open. Her now bright, pure-white hair gently waving as if it were underwater, Vyla's lips murmured something a completely dull monotone.

[glow=grey]" T a r g e t . . . n e e d e d : ' A m p l i f y . ' "[/glow]

Whatever powers Vyla was wielding seemed to have no visuals whatsoever. No sound. It simply felt like a subtle and warm breeze seemed to be emitting from the girl. Little 'gusts' of power seemed to lick against her fellow rookies, small sparks that mimicked the powered target's eye colour manifesting before fizzling away into nothingness, as if some sort of firework show was waiting to happen.

The energy of Conduit seemed checked for a clear source, but for now, there were no 'abilities' that had been cast for her powers to amplify. When it did lock on to a source... well, even Vyla did know what'd happen. All she know was that it was going to cause some - as she'd put it - 'trippy-ass shit'.

[/fieldbox]
 


Matsui Yuka


"Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?"
x

Today seemed as if it would be a regular day. Yuka woke up, got her tea and breakfast from the dining hall, did some light exercise, and went into her workshop to continue on Puchi. She was trying to get it to start recognizing faces in the database that would be friendly. Of course, every day there was always a possibility that something would go wrong. Today was explosions and spiders.

As Yu was working, she heard the explosion. It was nearby, and very loud. It shook her workshop, many things falling to the ground. Tools clattered, and her various water bottles fell from her desk. It was nothing catastrophic, but she bemoaned the idea of cleaning up later.

"Tomomi, activate and step off your charging dock." She ordered, standing up from working with Puchi. She picked the small robot up, and placed it on its own charging station. Tomomi stood in front of her charging station, waiting for more orders. Yuka walked over to the door of her room, and opened it slowly, peering out. It was smoky, and she could hear rushed tappings from the floor. Small lights cut through the smoke, and Yuka let out a scream as she saw them come into view. She slammed the door shut.

"Tomomi, help me keep this door shut!" She yelled, and the android ran over to help keep it closed. There were a few thumps against the door, but after hearing Santa with his signature laugh through the halls, they seemed to disperse from her door. After a few moments of silence, she opened the door again and looked around. The spiders were gone. Taking her chances now, she pulled her gun from its holster, and ran down the hall.

"Tomomi, follow!" She called to her android, who did so. She got to the lab, and looked inside. Seeing another group of people made her sigh in relief.

"What happened?" She asked the group, looking among them. There was Doctor Baumann, Venn, and Wu, so at least people who could protect her in case things went south. She would be the first to admit she wasn't made for fighting. "Why are there spiders? Specifically mechanical spiders?"
 
adamkane-png.152672

Adam Kane code named Akira

By using his ultra sensative hearing Adam knew the conditions of the new plan. "Tell Sable not to worry." Adam said as he took off he holster and Gun placing them on the control panel. He thought about it and left his collapsible baton aswell. "I think I'll be ok ad is. I won't turn for this, I usually get kind of intense when I turn."

Adam watched Arista get ready. "You're going full armor? Don't you think that's over kill? Most of these recruits will be easy to disarm or disable." He said watching her suit power up, "I mean I want them all to succeed but better they fail now then get K.I.A." Adam said as he was heading twords the door of the control room.

Kei walked down to the doors of the simulation room. He knocked on them and prepared to run interference. "I'll give them my 33% power, I don't want to hurt them just get in their way." Adam took in several breaths and waited for the doors to open. "Let's go Sable I'm right outside."

@Valor @Tarieles @Dao Ma
 
[fieldbox="Gabriel Baraniq +ERGO, #242424, solid, 10"]
Gabe's animated reaction to Rostam paused in mid flail as Jasper spoke up, giving his own comments on the matter. So it was possible that the gnomes were up to it again! The thought of the creepy little bearded men with the red caps that would pop up and freeze so that they could bounce around and spin like a starmie pokemon gave Gabe the heebie-jeebies. The energetic manchild looked over to Rostam when he mentioned how stupid it would be to try and fight against the organization. Gabe nodded in agreement. But then again, it was a pretty common fact that gnomes weren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.

Rostam pulled out his phone and Gabe looked back at the simulation room door. Something about the room... "OH!" He forgot! He was supposed to be getting that new recruit some water! He faced the door, then spun in a circle as his brain surged back to his task at hand. But as Rostam said he was leaving their small group, Gabe stopped spinning and looked at him. "Oh, you're leaving? Oh--oh okay." He muttered and gave Rostam a small wave goodbye. He turned back to Jasper and gave a small frown. "I forgot, I was getting water for..."

His voice trailed off as he heard the definite sound of metal scratching against the freshly cleaned floor. "Eh?" Gabe looked down to see a metallic spider the size of a football scurry passed the two agents. "Ehhhhhh????" The spider seemed to ignore the two and continued on scurrying down the hall until it turned the corner out of view. ".... Am-am I just seeing things? Or is that one of those laser-shooting-explody-mecha-spiders?"
[/fieldbox]

@Eryian @ShiroKiyoshi
 
[fieldbox="STORM KELLY, #242424, solid, 10"]
Hearing Sable make an announcement out of the higher ranked agents' arrival onto the simulation made Storm facepalm. Really? Could he be any more tactless? Even more so was Adam's thanks toward Storm. Storm narrowed his eyes onto Adam and he clicked his tongue. "Covering for you? Who ever said I was covering for you? Think of this as repercussion for interrupting my simulation training." He looked away from the agent and finished with the control panel. Despite Adam talking to Sable, it was Storm who opened the door for the male agent to go through.

He ignored the rest of Adam's conversation with Arisha and himself as he stepped closer to the now open door. Knuckles were crashed and he tilted his head this way and that, cracking his neck. "Ready, Renegade? Akira?" He gestured for the two to go through the door first, and then followed after. Once they were all in the simulation room (and conveniently hidden from view of the rookie agents by a building platform), the door closed and dissolved into the setting behind them.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Esfir's suggestion would have worked relatively well, if everyone actually followed through. Sig had done her side of the plan, but unfortunately the news of the game changing seemed to make the group rethink about acting.
All, except for the Valkyrie, whom was now fending off several shadowed figures. Even before the senior agents came in, she would find herself in a slightly tight spot fighting the figures alone.

As Sig danced around fighting the figures, one of them melted into the ground and sprung up behind her, ready to hit her in the back with it's spear. It came down a little more expertly than the attacks had previously been--determined to strike down her points from 3 to 2.

If she were to make note of her surroundings, she may notice that etched in the side of one of the buildings nearby her, was the runic symbol of an eye, watching her ever so curiously.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Found one." Storm mumbled, having lit a new cigarette by now and slowly waved it back and forth in the air in front of him to spread smoke in front of his face. "The valk is fighting with the shadows in front of a ring." He placed the cigarette between his lips and took a long drag, only to let it out in an equally long breath. "Simulated enemies retracting in three... two... one..."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Only a few seconds after the shadowed figure struck down at Sig, it disappeared. So did the other two that were attacking her, leaving only her and the ring floating nearby.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"They're running out of time, just standing around and strategising." Storm started to walk, hands in his pockets as he made his way over to the edge of a platform. Turning and kicking his heel against it, a pillar show up just below him, sending him up to be on the same level at the platform. He was searching for the other three now. He assumed Arisha was already working her magic, and Adam was clever enough to sniff out which would become his prey. Who would they find and single out? It seemed that Esfir had taken herself out of the fight. Sitting back and watching the others work, she didn't look like she would be participating any further with the group. So what would they do with their planner out of commission?

It was almost instinctive of Storm to go after the one that could potentially change the outcome of the entire simulation-- CONDUIT. As powerful as the others may be.... it was this unsuspecting girl that could really make an impact on how well the group did as a whole. Plus... her little shouting fit that had been fed by the newest addition, Seier... well let's just say Storm wanted to see that bravado up close. Though, as he tread across platforms,
he kept an eye out for any of the other new recruits. Who knew what Atticus or Seier would do if they came across the schemer of the entire simulation?​
[/fieldbox]

@Tarieles @Mars Walker @Jakers @Jinx @Valor
 
[fieldbox="Venn Charles - INDIE, #242424, solid, 10"]
Venn glanced behind him to see that Bobby wasn't too far behind him. When the sphere encompassed him as well, he gave the yaoguai a small nod. Now was a time of action, not for bickering about who the fuck followed instructions or not. He followed closely after Huiyin, looking around when and where he could to see what could have caused the explosion. Part of the floor where the explosion had occurred was chipped away and the wall was equally chipped and blackened. Whatever it was, had a rather potent explosive.

The two continued onward, only to encounter Yuka and Tomomi heading their direction into the lab. She had a good question. Why were there mechanical spiders. "The fuck if I know." Venn hissed and looked back to see if anyone else had followed them. "Fucking spiders must've gotten loose or some shit." If someone had let them out, then surely hell would rain upon them later. And god fucking forbid if someone got hurt because of this. Venn wasn't a stranger to injury, but he by all means possible, he tried to avoid going to the infirmary when the supervisor was in. Being beaten to health wasn't exactly appealing.

"I think right now instead of asking why, we should be asking how we're gonna fucking stop 'em before they do more damage." He looked around again, straining his ears to hear for the sound of the spiders running about. Man... this was not how he wanted to spend his god damn day.
[/fieldbox]

@Alibaba @Shizuochan @rissa @Tarieles
 
[fieldbox="Seier Rose, black, solid, 10"] Seier looked to Vyla as she seemed to power herself up after making a grand speech, wondering exactly what she could do with her ability. She then quickly analyzed the area, noting that the simulated enemies appeared to be no more, since the shadow that Sig had been fighting simply disappeared.

No simulated enemies makes this a lot easier. Ah wonder how many agents they're bringin' in tae help?

Since no one seemed to be getting anywhere by just standing around trying to make a plan, and with their time quickly running out, Seier thought it best to take off on her own, and set her gaze on a faraway ring.
Her eyes widened in a bit of shock when she opened a portal with such fluidity and ease that it barely took a thought to do so. The portal swirled open in one motion, it's edges calm, steady, and held-together. She could feel her energy surging through her body in a manner that she wasn't used to— It felt smooth and light like a breath of air, rather than the usual struggle for control over it. Quickly, Seier ran inside the portal, closing it behind herself.

The inside of this new dimension was devoid of everything, it was simply black, and seemingly endless. Seier lifted her hands and waved them gently, and soft grass appeared under her feet. With a snap of her fingers, multicolored orbs of light appeared, floating around like fireflies. She smiled, feeling more at ease in a tiny world of her own creation. There was no one she could hurt here, and less things she could fuck up.

Sighing a bit, Seier created another portal, and ran through it back into reality. She was surprised to see that she'd come out exactly where she wanted to be— not more than a couple of feet from the desired ring.

"Aye, this is a cakewalk!" She grinned, stopping in front of the ring and bending down to swipe at it.
[/fieldbox]

@Tarieles @Dao Ma @Jakers @Jinx @Valor