Hero Era - RP Thread - PG-13

[VampirateMace]

* PG-13 - For unrealistic violence, light language, and use of an injection/needles to gain superpowers.

Rules:
1. Follow the standard forum and sub-forum rules.
2. Don't SPAM, flame, or otherwise harass other players. I don't care if it's here or on discord, don't do it, be mature.
3. Don't bunny (control others' character's) without permission. - IF you fight another player, you do not get to decide if you hit them.
4. Your character is NOT Omnipotent, Omniscient, or Omnipresent. Do NOT have them know things they shouldn't or otherwise god-mode.
5. Put your name(s) and location at the top of your post. Inventory is not required.
6. Once you use the serum, I will contact you with the results of your roll in the discord and we can work out any final details. - IF your character would have injected it as soon as getting it, I can pre-roll for you, BUT if you lie and back-out, you do not get a re-roll, instead you will simply lose power privileges.
7. Do NOT be the idiot that forces me to make more rules, okay?

Approved Players:
1. VampirateMace (Nyla - Super Speed)
2. InnerFlame (Kyuu - Explosive Bubbles)
3. Monster Guy (Danny - Diamond Form)
4. Sketchie (Melanie - Hydrokinetic Intangibility & Seduction)
5. Schade (Leo - Elemental kinesis; Water )
6. Tangeh (Abby - Armor Creation & Sound Scrambling)


Okay, let's graduate. . .

Nyla
School Auditorium

Somewhat bored at this point, Nyla sat crammed into the first two rows of seats with the rest of her classmates, all wearing the tacky and stupidly expensive robes they'd only need this once. The dark color wasn't too bad, but the muumuu-like design wasn't flattering on any of them. Still, she was now holding what was potentially the most important and life changing item she'd ever own, superpower serum!

She looked down at the tube in her hands, the neon green serum liquid could be seen through a clear center section, and there was a depressor at the back end, though the needle was still covered with an anti-tampering safety cap. Later when she's mentally prepared, she'll break off this cap and stab the needle into her arm or leg muscles. . . And pray she gets a decent power. She'd spent a lot of time fantasizing about the cool powers she could receive, and even more time wondering how lame a power she'd actually end up with. Their mailman had developed the disgusting and practically combat worthless ability to fling his fingernails and toenails.

A commotion suddenly roused her from her pondering. Looking up she saw Skyler running for the stage. He looked even scruffier than usual, though she hadn't seen him in a couple months. And he smelled heavily of cheap beer. Shouting at the currently recognized graduate about deserving powers as much as any of them, he snatched up the remaining syringes and snapped three open in one motion. The vice principle reached out and tried to reason with him, but he knocked her away, ranting about deserving the recognition he's going to get. And that he'll get it today! He then injected the first three serums into his arm.

Nyla bite her lower lip, cringing as this unfolded. On stage, more people tried to intervene as he stabbed another round of serums into his arm, including Star Archer, a professional hero that can shoot electric bolts from his hands. The principle reached down and pulled the vice principle to her feet, before leading her off the stage and out of the way.

As Skyler doubled over in pain and started screaming, many people abandon their seats in a panic. Screams echoed through the room as people crowded around the exits. A second, younger pro hero, Rosy Breeze, tried to calm the crowd with her aroma therapy powers and guide them out in a more organized manner, but it was clearly more people than she was used to dealing with.

Nyla looked from her to the stage, where Skyler's body has started to distort and swell. It's something she's only read and seen old videos about, Serum Overload Syndrome. Studies say the subjects injected with an overdoes of serum may grow in size and manifest several strong powers, but they're driven mad by the pain and adrenaline, making them hard to subdue. It was probably going to take as many capable people as could help to bring him down. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the serum in her hands again. It usually takes five minutes for powers to manifest, so if she hopes to help that way, the time to inject it was five minutes ago. Swiftly she uncapped her serum and jabs the needle into her arm, hoping desperately that she has good luck for once.

 

[Monster Guy]

Danny
School Auditorium

Danny sat quietly, and fidgeted in his seat. He had all sorts of emotions running through his head at this graduation ceremony. His parents were in the audience, and he was happy to have them there. Of course, his mother could not stop taking pictures of her baby, and the other guys called him a mamma's boy and rubbed it in his face. That embarrassed him greatly... It was ok. Soon, he would be a graduate, and would never have to see those bullies again. He would also get his superpowers, finally. Of course, the possibilities were endless. He could get a cool one, or something lame.

Danny bit down on his lip nervously as the serums were handed out. What kind of fate was going to await him? Maybe he could become a cool and brave superhero? Or would just become even more of a wimp in everyone else’s eyes?

Then it happened. Skyler came busting into the room, and running to the stage. He was the last person Danny wanted to see. He had already made life Hell for him, what more was he going to do? He really let himself go, and Danny wondered how he ever developed a crush on this jerk... Of course, he was a hot jerk back then but... Still a jerk.

Skyler did a dumb thing, and injected himself with a bunch of serums at once. Skyler started to distort, and become even uglier... People panicked, and left the theater, while some of the heroes tried to help as best they could.

Danny looked on. Skyler was going through power overload syndrome, something he’d only heard about but never actually witnessed untill now. If something wasn’t done, bad things would happen... He had his own power syringe in his hand. He could sit there and be useless, or do something to help. Or he could get a lame power, and still be useless... There was only one way to find out... He took a deep breath, and shut his eyes. "Here goes nothing..." Then he jabbed the needle in his arm...

 

[InnerFlame]

Kyuu
School Auditorium

Kyuu sat in silence as he nervously shifted in his seat. Being place in the middle of the graduating student body was nerve-racking. He was biting down on his bottom lip as his gray eyes stared at his feet. Despite his slumping sitting posture and nervous eyes, Kyuu had listened to the speeches of the invited special guest and the valedictorian. He was even paying attention to the next people to receive their serum. His eyes change location to the green serum in his hand. Kyuu had earlier stumbled a bit as he accidentally stepped on the hemp of graduation gown and nearly dropped it. The black-haired could feel his face turning redder as he remembered the laughter slipped out from his peers.

Leaving behind the past embarrassment, Kyuu began to stare at the vial. He wondered what power it would grant him. His cousin had gotten the ability to befriend and gather information from animals, and his dad merely a superstrong grip. He was worried. Receiving a useless power or some weird mutation was not what he was anxious about. Kyuu was most fearful he would have something dangerously powerful that he couldn't control. Kyuu was shifting in his seat again. It was frightening to think about what could go wrong, yet he was excited as well. Just maybe, he could be a cool superhero like the ones he read in his books.

There was a commotion the boy with glasses looked up for the first time since being placed in his seat. It was Skyler, a super angry Skyler. It looks like his months of school expulsion was not good on him. Kyuu's body froze as the drunken teen rush the stage, rambling on about deserving this more than them and jabbing multiple serums into his arm. Panic followed as everyone went rushing for the exits. Even the students on the stage were frantic to get off the stage and get as far away as possible.

Kyuu ended up knocked to the ground and stepped on by multiple people, luckily he was able to protect his serum. It was probably the infectious atmosphere of panic doing, but he was absolutely terrified. He remained on the ground, trembling. Even tears of fear form at the edge of his eyes, but he found himself unable to move. As the thought that he had to escape crossed his mind, he could hear Skyler's pain-filled screams in the mix of the panic. While he didn't particularly like the guy after all the years of bullying, a real hero wouldn't abandon him because of that. There were also a bunch of other innocent people, including his own family that was in danger. If something were to happen to them, he wouldn't know what he'll do. Yet, what could he do?

Kyuu's eyes looked back at the serum he had clenched close to his body. It would take five minutes to activate normally... and there was no guarantee it would be anything remotely helpful. But even if it wasn't, he'll do whatever he could to delay Skyler, so everyone else could escape. Kyuu undid the cap on the vial and got the needle ready. His hands were trembling as he lined it up, and for a second, he wondered if he should really do this. Tears ran down his face as he closed his eyes and jabbed the serum into his leg. It was too late to go back now.

 

[Schade]

Leopold Goodfellow
School Auditorium

Aah, graduatio day. It was somewhat strange that Leo had finally made it this far, considering how much effort he had had to put into his different classes the past few months. However, it had all paid off, and while you wouldn't see it on the stone-clad expression on his face, he was beyond happy he had managed to get decent grades after all. He had nobody in the audience; his mother was sleeping through some sort of new drug she had obtained through unknown means, and even if she was sober she wouldn't be here considering Leo hadn't actually told her graduation was that day. In fact, he bet she would be surprised to hear he was still even in school. He sighed an annoyed sigh by the thought of it, but quickly rolled out his pleasant thoughts: After today, he was free to go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted... Within reason and within whatever he could do with his grades. The only thing standing in his way now was getting superpowers. People with superpowers were definitely better off in the world nowdays, and unless he gets a power turning him into an inflatable flamingo-creature made from solid steel or something, things would theoretically get easier for him.

As the graduates were handed out the serums, Leo grunted. He disliked needles a lot. like.. A lot. Ironic considering his history with them, but you win some you lose some. Luckily the stabby-stab would only last a moment, or so they always said. Gosh he hated needles. Looking at the gooey insides of the vial, he started wondering if life would actually be better without it. He sincerily doubted that, and while not taking it was still a valid option, the fear of missing out or "Fomo" as they called it would likely make him regret that desicion almost right away regardless.

Alas, Leo wouldn't be able to sit alone with his thoughts for much longer, as a new commotion amongst the audience pulled his attention towards.. Skyler? His old friend certainly looked worse for wear, looking like he'd been living under a bridge for the past few months, and was reeking of beer. Leo instinctively stood up, ready to react in case his drunk friend decided to do something stupid: He somehow managed to recieve all the remaining syringes from the briefcase on the podium while ranting about equality while dripping of envy and potential untreated mental illness. Like, Leo knew Skyler had some issues; all three of them did, but Skyler was the only one brave... Stupid? Take your pick, enough to actually go through with his sometimes insane plans. It was sad seeing his former friend in this state, especially considering this was the first time he had seen him in actual months. The two had kept in touch through texts a few times, but he had never actually revealed where he was or what he was doing.

As Skyler jammed way too many needles into himself at once, which was something he hadn't done in a very long time, he began the normal human-reacting-to-the-superpower-serum reaction you'd read about in the brochures, except it was timed by maybe 10, or 20. It looked very very uncomfortable, and as he was trashing about, the audience began panicing, running for the doors in terror. Some hero Leo didn't know of was there however, and used her powers in order to calm the masses and orderly escort them out. Great, now what..

As if hearing his rethorical inner question, another student from the graduating class whose name Leo didn't remember took to action, and stabbed her arm with her serum needle, followed by the weird pink nerd who did the same thing. This was following a pattern now, as another graduate injected the serum. it would look bad on him if he were to step out now, and he didn't want to be the only one doing so. Taking a deep shaky breath, Leo jammed the serum into his right arm, hoping for the best.

 

[Tangeh]

Abby
School Auditorium

Abby had tuned out the monotone announcer and dwindling applause as the last of her classmates received their graduate serums. She glanced back at the crowd, and her youngest brother Benjamin – seated beside their grandmother – shot her a thumbs up. Her parents and other brother Jacob had long left the auditorium, with an excuse that bleeped to her smartwatch that they were going to go home to set up the after-party. The after-party that Abby had promised to save her serum for, so that the family could find out together what her future held. A few of her classmates had already cracked open the safety cap and injected themselves, and the suspense was killing her. Her middling grades weren't good enough to get into the post-secondary school she wanted, and her current life plan was to jump-start a new path with her superpowers. Maybe she could even be a professional hero like the few that were acting as guards at the ceremony – maybe rise to super sports stardom, her bad knee be damned – hell, it didn't matter, as long as she wasn't working retail for the rest of her life.

It took Abby several moments to realize something was wrong. A quiet confused murmuring turned into a panicked buzz, and Abby looked to the stage to see – of all people – Skyler. He seemed drunk, and started screaming about deserving superpowers just as much as any of them. Abby's mouth fell open as he snatched three syringes and injected them into his arm. The professionals tried to intervene, but he grabbed even more of the serums and started jabbing them into himself. That wasn't good. There was some fancy word for it that Abby couldn't remember, but basically too much serum caused -

Skyler doubled over in pain and started screaming, and the crowd started panicking. Abby got to her feet and looked automatically for Benjamin and her grandmother – both of whom were being pushed around in the shuffle as people made a panicked dash for the exit. Abby grit her teeth and whirled back toward the stage. They didn't have enough heroes on hand to handle this, as Skyler was rapidly getting larger and louder. Abby glanced down at the serum in her hand, then back at her family, and without any further consideration uncapped the serum and jabbed the needle into her arm.

She tossed the empty vial aside and started running for the crowd. Her left knee gave a familiar twinge despite the brace on it, but she hardly noticed. All that mattered was making sure that her little brother and grandmother would be okay. 'Come on superpowers... kick in!'

 

[Sketchie]

Melanie Briggs
School Auditorium​

Melanie glimmered.

With a wince, Melanie gave herself the serum as soon as she had gotten it. No reason to wait, after all. She hated needles, and if she was going to do this it was now or never. The serum didn’t take long to activate, only a few minutes. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep, taking in the changes she was feeling. She could feel the ocean crashing within her, taking over, becoming one, as if she could channel it with her very form. She opened her eyes, and focused deep. She felt the waters flow from her core to her fingertips, and with her will, she turned her hands into that same water. Melanie giggled, not paying much attention to the ceremony. This was great! It wouldn’t help on stage, but it wouldn’t hinder her either, and it would be so fun to turn into water at her whim.

She focused the feeling on her hair, giggling as it turned into flowing water. Beachy waves, she giggled to herself. She couldn’t wait to show her family. Veronica especially would be excited. It was strange, though, wasn’t there supposed to be some physical change..?

That was when Melanie noticed it—the eyes that had now shifted to her presence. What would cause that? Surely, just some water hair wouldn’t draw much attention away from the ceremony... when it dawned on her. A grin crept onto her face. Two powers weren’t common, but it seemed as if Melanie had hit the jackpot. Now, that would be useful as a leading lady. If only this graduation would just go ahead and get it over with. She had powers now!

Melanie had her attention ripped from her thoughts by some commotion. She looked up in time to see a guy who looked a lot like that Skylar kid running to the stage. (Oh. Huh. Maybe it was Skylar? She hadn’t seen him in a while.) Melanie shrugged it off. This was more exciting than a graduation ceremony, but his disjointed rant of wanting recognition was just as boring as any valedictorian’s.

Until he injected himself with a bunch of the syringes, started to go feral, and the real heroes had to intervene.

Melanie blinked. This was far too surreal to be real, and yet, it was right in front of her. She looked up to where her family was, and watched as the Briggs family were escorted out. At least they were safe. She turned her attention to the rampaging ex-classmate. What could she do? Her powers were passive, and would being more alluring do anything for anyone turning into a monster? She bit her lip. What else could she do? She closed her eyes, focusing hard on her entire body. She felt the ocean closing in, and when she opened her eyes, her whole form was made entirely of water.

Here goes nothing..!

She ran up to the stage, sliding into an attractive pose and giggling sweetly. “Heyy, Skylar,” she chirped, winking in his direction. She twirled a lock of hair in between her fingers, resting her other hand on her hips. “Honey, what on earth do you think you’re doing?”

 

[VampirateMace]

Nyla
School Auditorium

Five Minutes. Pulling the syringe from her arm, Nyla let the tube drop. It wasn't uncommon for people, especially ones that got good powers, to keep their serum tubes as a souvenir of the turning point in their lives, and Nyla did kind of like the creepy medical looks of the things, but this was an emergency and she didn't have anywhere safe to put it. She looked again at the surging crowd, then back at Skyler. Many of her classmates had joined the panic to get out of the room, especially now that Skyler looked like he might explode in a shower of muscles and guts, and one of them was even on the floor in fetal position, but a few were still standing here with her. Though she wondered how many planned to face off with Skyler (or at least slow him down if he went after the retreating crowd), and how many were just gawking at the grotesque display.

Then someone rushed forward. It was Melanie, one of the theater kids, though she looked a little different, kind of transparent. And she did something that made Nyla cringe, she basically hit on Skyler as half a dozen people were struggling to subdue him. Though Nyla did have to admit that it did seem like something one of the theater kids would do. In reaction, Star Archer made a panicked gesture as he waved for Melanie to move, “Get back!”

Four minutes. Nyla felt particularly worthless standing there waiting to see if useful powers would kick in. And what was the plan if she got something dumb, or was one of those unlucky people that took months to get or recognize their powers?

Skyler roared, shaking off most of the half dozen adults that were trying to subdue him. Star Archer turned his attention from Melanie and extended his arms muttering, “Sorry kid,” as he reluctantly blasted off a couple electric bolts at Skyler. The youth flattered, then flailed and screamed in response. And maybe it was Nyla's imagination, but was he still growing, or at least swelling?

On the other side of the room the crowds had made some progress. There was still quite the bottleneck, as Rosy Breeze couldn't reach everyone with her power or her voice. But lavender with hints of orange and cinnamon drifted through the air around the outskirts of the crowd, calming and clearing the minds of those that inhaled it.

Three minutes. The room felt electric. At least to Nyla. What was this buzzing sensation? It was kind of like being dizzy, but not quite. No, it was jitters, like she'd drunk six or seven cups of coffee. It was like she could do anything. Like she had to do something. She definitely had to do something.

Without really thinking about it, she grabbed one of the aluminum folding chairs (they weren't that heavy), and started running at Skyler. She was on stage in almost an instant, and swung the chair. It didn't have a lot of strength behind it, but it had enough momentum to make up for that. Did she have super speed? Skyler responded by batting at her, knocking her into some of the remaining chairs. Groaning and sore, Nyla staggered to her feet, and told herself, “Right, okay, I've got to remember to dodge.”

 

[Monster Guy]

Danny
School Auditorium

After injecting himself with the serum, Danny didn’t feel all that different. Of course it apparently did take at least five minutes for it to activate... Great, way to draw out the anticipation. The suspense was killing him! The good news was, it looked like his parents made it out safely. He didn’t see them anywhere. They were probably looking for him though...

Meanwhile, the professional heroes were still trying to subdue Skyler. While the other graduates were injecting themselves. One of them who Danny only recognized as one of the theater kids, and injected herself literally the second she got her syringe, and was... was she actually trying to flirt with Skyler? Danny facepalmed. He had already tried that. It didn’t work out well for him. Of course, she might have better luck... She was a girl...

Danny rolled his eyes, and walked over to the boy that had been knocked to the floor and trampled. Kyuu, the other kid that was bullied as much as he was. Of course he was, he was the science teacher’s son. No one in this school appreciated science like he did. Danny nervously walked over to the other bullied kid. “Um... excuse me? Uh... a-a-are you ok?” Danny asked while twiddling his fingers and looking at his feet.

Meanwhile, Skyler started to roar and keep on growing. One girl ran on to the stage (boy did she run. It looked like she had gotten super speed) and tried to hit him with a chair. It didn’t appear to do much, as Skyler batted at her, which knocked her into a bunch of chairs.

“Eep!” Danny yelped, winced, and put his arms up as if Skyler were going to throw something at him next. He didn’t, but that was when it happened. He felt different... Danny looked at his arms, and saw they had become translucent, shiny, and... He knocked on one of his forearms, hard. Like a diamond... “Oh my gosh!” Danny shouted, his eyes lit up. Did he actually get a cool power?! He had read a comic book that had a character with this ability. He could deliver a diamond hard punch to Skyler’s face! He definitely deserved it! He looked up at Skyler... and his face fell. He immediately decided against it... Not now. With all the stuff he was going through, who knows how Skyler would retaliate... It was better to stay with Kyuu for now.

 

[InnerFlame]

Kyuu
School Auditorium

Kyuu could hear talking and movement, but nothing definitive was registered in his brain. All he could do was shiver uncontrollably and quietly sob as the fear gripped him tightly. Through the blurry teary eyes, Kyuu could make out the mass that was Skyler. Even with slightly impaired vision, the black-haired teen could tell he was growing bigger. In his mind, he knew he needed to calm down but couldn't. His deep breaths were started to turn more into hyperventilation. During Kyuu's frightful panic, he could tell someone was approaching. Huddling up, he clenched his eyes shut.

"Um... excuse me? Uh... a-a-are you ok," a worried stuttering voice spoke to Kyuu. His gray eyes opened and turned up the see a tall blond man with glasses. Even with blur vision, he was able to recognize this guy as Danny, another one of Skyler's victims. Suddenly, he shrieked and threw up his arms. Kyuu jumped as a reaction to that though it appeared to be nothing... yet. When he did so, he activated his power, and his arms turned into some kind of shimmering material. Despite his power's awakening, he stuck close to the terrified boy. He was anxious like any person should be, yet it looked like he was going watched over him.

Kyuu covered his face... this was beyond embarrassing... it was outright pathetic. He was absolutely pathetic, crying like a baby while others were trying to help. The people who weren't attempting to do something were not just sitting there in the way. Kyuu lifted up his glasses and wiped his sleeve across his face. His tears had stopped, and the fair skin under his eyes had a slight red tint to it. Even though he was unsteady doing so, the boy managed to lift himself to his feet, though still unstable while standing there.

"U-um..... I..." Kyuu's voice shakily and quietly came out, "I-I'm fine..... thank you..." Silently expressing his gratitude to Danny's concern, even looking him in the eye while doing it. As he turned attention toward Skyler and the heroes trying to subdue him, he notices of his own peers seem to be in the mix. He wondered if it been five minutes yet... Kyuu didn't feel any different if it had been that long. Other than his own strong emotions, he felt the same... maybe he was one of the ones who's power took longer than manifest... No... regardless if that was the situation, he wouldn't let himself back to sobbing on the floor. He was a little more attentive and ready to act as he glanced around for something that could be useful.

 

[Tangeh]

Abby
School Auditorium

Abby reached the stands – on foot, at a normal pace, (she reminded herself it had been barely thirty seconds since injection) and pushed aggressively through the crowd, who had gone oddly passive and were filing out in a single line out the emergency exit. It didn't take long after the scent of orange and cinnamon infiltrated her lungs that Abby slowed down too, and politely thanked the audience members who stepped out of the way to let Abby go against the flow of traffic.

Abby reached her grandmother and younger brother and pulled Benjamin to his feet. “Okay, come on, you can't just sit there and wait for people to leave. You have to go.”

Benjamin frowned, realizing the implication of Abby's words. “You aren't coming with us?”

Abby shook her head and glanced over her shoulder. Was it just her, or was Skyler getting even bigger? “I have to help. I took my syringe; I'll be fine.” Both Benjamin and their grandmother broke into excited grins, but Abby didn't have anything exciting to tell them yet, and definitely didn't have time to wait until she did. “Okay, Benjamin, go on. Help Grandma.”

The screaming of her classmates and the monster that had replaced Skyler seemed so surreal – any fear Abby had was gone, but so was any sense of urgency. She walked toward the stage, watching in bemusement as Melanie – the drama queen, literally – ran onto the stage and began flirting with him. Uh, maybe Abby missed that lesson in drama class. She never was much good at that class anyways, but Melanie definitely was. Star Archer – wow, she got to see him in action, awesome – frantically tried to get Melanie away from Skyler, then blasted him with a couple of electric bolts. Gosh, that was so cool – Abby hoped her powers would kick in soon too.

Still walking calmly as classmates continued to scream and scramble away around her, Abby came closer toward the stage, just in time to watch one of the goth girls run up at the speed of sound with a chair – only to get knocked right off into some of the remaining chairs. Abby jogged over as she groaned as staggered to her feet. “Dude,” Abby grinned, “that was awesome.” The calming effect was just starting to wear off, enough that Abby half realized that was probably not an appropriate comment in an emergency situation. She squinted at the stage, still feeling pretty passive about her grotesquely engorged former classmate roaring like a manic animal. “Uh, maybe if you had somebody else to distract him, that would work better?”

Abby glanced around – well, they had Melanie, but her distraction didn't seem to work very well. There was a boy cowering on the ground, and – oh, hey, was that Danny? They had been in the same chemistry class, but unlike Abby she was pretty sure he, you know, actually passed it. He was staring at his arm – which had turned hard and diamond-like ('so cool!'), but he seemed stumped on how to utilize this newfound ability. Or maybe he was just guarding the fallen kid. Abby looked back at the goth girl. “Or... maybe you could be the distraction.” Abby waved over at Danny. “Yo, Danny! What is that? Some kind of diamond power or something? Think you can punch if we got you close enough?”

 

[VampirateMace]

Nyla
School Auditorium

Nyla tried to formulate a plan a she looked over the monster that had once been Skyler, to a background cacophony of shouts. Her attack seemed to have had very little effect. Then she caught a glimpse of something, no someone, sparkling in her peripheral vision. The shy boy was now standing with him.

Her attention was pulled again by one of the sports girls, who seemed to think this whole event was pretty great. But then again, that was perfect, cause she seemed to have a game plan. Get someone to be a distraction. . . no, be the distraction. The sports girl wanted Nyla to distract him so the guy with newly crystallized arms could punch him. That might work, some gems were hard and sharp enough to cut metal, so probably they could do decent damage to flesh. Nyla nodded, replying, “On it.”

Nyla grabbed a chair with each hand and started running, not worrying if the chairs scrapped up the floor. She rounded Star Archer, figuring that if she pulled Skyler's attention to the back corner, that would give him and everyone else openings. Now she just had to get his attention. Nyla dropped the chairs, starting to shout and wave her arms around, “Hey booze breath! Over here! Yeah, you, you stink!”

The lack of reply was kind of disheartening. But to be fair, Skyler was kind of in pain and being assaulted by electric bolts and and other powers. So Nyla went with Plan B, she picked up a chair and chucked it at Skyler as hard as she could. It hit him on the side of the face, leaving a nasty red mark. Skyler growled and looked sharply at her. Then after shaking his head he took a couple lumbering steps forward, eyes locked on her. Yep, he'd definitely gotten bigger. Star Archer took a couple steps back, frantically shouting to Nyla, “Kid, what are you doing? Get out of here, let the professionals handle this!”

While he was distracted as such, Skyler flung out his massive arm, swatting Star Archer across the room, into the wall over the remaining crowd. Let the professionals handle this indeed. He and Rosy Breeze were the only professional heroes currently here, and he'd just slid down a wall unconscious, into a group of already panicked civilians.

Skyler's eyes however, were still on Nyla.

“That's right! It's me you want, isn't it?” shouted Nyla lifting the second chair and threatening to throw it. She need to time this right though, so that the others got a shot as subduing him before she could run out of the corner at the last possible second. So for now she just shook the chair at him, continuing to taunt, “Well, come on, bring it on, little man!”

Skyler roared, doubling over again. There were sickening cracking and squelching sounds, like bones breaking and flesh tearing, and it was quickly apparent why, as half a dozen beefy arms split out of his back and torso, flailing madly. They weren't as big as his original arms, but they still looked like they could pack a punch. Nyla went ahead and said what a lot of people were probably thinking, “F--k. . .”

 

[Monster Guy]

Danny Davis
School Auditorium

Danny was relieved to see that Kyuu was ok. Then the athletic girl called out to him. Abby, Danny believed her name was. He thought he had chemistry class with her. His eyes went wide with shock at what she asked him to do. “Me? Punch him? Oh I would love to. But... um... I mean... I could but... um... No no no... I couldn’t possibly do that... What if he does something to me? Um...” He shuffled his feet nervously. In truth, Danny would love nothing more than to punch Skyler in his stupid face for all the Hell he put him through. It would probably hurt a lot with these new diamond powers. But then, what would Skyler do in return? He had been on the receiving end of abuse from him enough times, and now he had superpowers. Danny shuddered at the thought.

Meanwhile, the goth girl in their group seemed to have gotten super speed, and was busy taunting Skyler. That was not a good idea. Danny would never have the nerve to do that. She even threw a chair at him, which seemed to only make Skyler upset. See, this was exactly what Danny was afraid of. It looked like Skyler had gotten bigger, which didn't help Danny's misgivings abount punching him. He had even managed to knock out Star Archer with his giant arm.

Then, the sights and sounds of tearing flesh and breaking bones was disgusting and made Danny look away in disgust for a moment. When he looked back up, Skyler grew six more arms out of his back. Great, he was a Machamp now. Danny sighed. As much as he was terrified of what the ramifications would be, he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. "Alright... I'll do it... I just really hope I don't regret this!" He ran up to the stage, screaming, "YAHHHHHH!" and delivered a diamond hard punch to Skyler's face.

 

[Tangeh]

Abby
School Auditorium

Abby couldn't help but break into a grin as the speedster nodded, and with a quick “on it” the other girl grabbed two chairs and rounded Star Archer. But there was a risk only half of Abby's plan was going to be put into action – Danny turned into a stuttering mess, and Abby's attention flicked between him and the goth girl, who had started throwing the chairs at the screaming disaster that was Skyler.

Abby grit her teeth and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. “Listen up, Danny! Your entire body is made of freaking diamond! Of course you can do this!” Out of the corner of Abby's eye she spotted Star Archer fly across the room and she gaped as he went splat against the wall next to screaming civilians. She quickly averted her eyes away, but it was too late – Danny had definitely seen that too. “O-okay, it's okay, don't look at that – Star Archer was paying attention to our distraction, that's what we need Skyler to do.” Oh crap, did that mean it was her fault that the only real hero they had was now unconscious? No, no, forget that – but they really needed this to work. “You just need to focus on getting a good punch in!” Skyler's attention was firmly on the speedy goth. Danny had to go, now. But then there was a sickening crunch, and six more arms sprouted out of Skyler's back. Danny grimaced and Abby fought to keep her gaze steady. “He's a total mess! Now's your chance!”

Danny finally agreed, and Abby pumped one arm in the air and whooped as he ran onto the stage. ...Would he really be okay? Abby glanced around and grabbed one of the foldable chairs. Speedy goth girl seemed to have some success with them. Abby followed behind Danny as his diamond arm rammed straight into Skyler's face. “Yes!” Abby cheered as Skyler toppled sideways... and also backwards – wow, that was one heck of a punch, but -

Abby's eyes widened. “Get back!” she yelled as six beefy arms flailed out of Skyler's back toward Danny. Abby ran forward and pulled Danny back by his shoulder and grasped the aluminum chair tightly as an admittedly pathetic shield. One of the arms punched the chair down, and a second got Abby in the chest. Abby blinked, feeling no pain – then glanced down at her body, which was completely covered in a dull metallic hue that mimicked the folding chair – albeit badly dented now from that punch. Not the sturdiest material, but better than nothing – okay – no time to think! Abby punched the grotesque arms back with metal-coated arms, trying her best not to think about how gross they looked wriggling out of Skyler's back. Skyler groaned animalistically and unsteadily stood up, apparently still reeling from Danny's punch earlier. He lunged clumsily at Abby, and she dissolved the aluminum armor and rolled out of the way, wincing as she tried to brace herself back up on her good leg. Skyler opened his mouth wide and roared like a wild beast, and Abby covered her ears. “Shut up!” she growled – and he did. Sort of? She could see his mouth open, but the noise was mixed with the screaming of the crowd, and was echoing randomly around her. Skyler seemed affected as well, as he covered his ears and doubled over. Loud echoing sounds probably weren't good for a concussion – Abby could guess that much from experience.

Then the sounds returned to normal, and Abby stood up and backed away. Okay, she had powers, but she still wasn't totally sure what they were. But Skyler seemed weaker for now – unless another batch of mutations were going to crop up...

 

[InnerFlame]

Kyuu
School Auditorium

Standing with his arms hugged to his chest and silently watching, that’s all Kyuu did. Abby called to Danny to attack Skyler while Nyla was being a distraction. As the girl taunted and threw chairs as the continuously growing mutant. The professional hero, Star Archer worriedly told her to get out of there just before getting hit by Skyler and being flung across the room with a loud crash. Panic increased at that scene. The black-haired boy looked in shock at now unconscious hero... if he couldn’t handle it what could they possibly do so.

Now six smaller but muscular arms formed on Skyler’s body with a sickening crackling and sounds of tearing flesh. They flailed wildly and Kyuu was panicking a bit, as he stared at the monstrosity that was once human. He wouldn’t think any different of Danny if he decided not to act against him. But Abby had other plans. Coming over to encourage him and eventually convincing him. He turned completely diamond and a powerfully punched to the face toppled giant. Abby turned metal as she protected Danny and Skyler was lured away from the stage.

Kyuu continued to watch as he stood alone on the stage. The mutant collapse over some strange noise distortion echoed around him. It seems like this fight was over and his schoolmates seemed to have it under control. The black-haired teen wasn’t needed and was thinking about trying to make his way to the exit. Then suddenly there was a groaning from the toppled over Skyler. After writhing in pain suddenly the arms that grown on his body shot off this still moving and thrashing around all about the room.

One of Skylar’s disembodied arms landed on the stage and started to move towards him. Too scared to make noise, Kyuu just shakily back away. If his mind wasn’t in such a panic, he might have thought about running away. All of his senses blocked out everything except the danger. It strangely seemed to follow him, despite not having the typical senses that require to do that. The bespectacled teen suddenly stumbled and the arm came into strike range. A soft whimper escaped as he flailed pointlessly at it and to his surprised, a few small bubbles appeared. Kyuu bite down on his lip, he had a useless power...

Boom! There was a loud explosion that roared through the auditorium as the arm burst them. It also sent arm flying away, where it twitched a bit before going still. The bespectacled boy just stared in astonishment with newly tussled hair... That... that couldn’t have been him, could it? Even seeing it up close, Kyuu didn’t believe it. Nervously, he tried to recreate it. This time he created a single bigger bubble, though when it popped it produces a much weaker explosion... Kyuu pondered curiously... Did the difference in the size of it affect the explosiveness?

 

[VampirateMace]

Nyla
School Auditorium

For once, no one had told Nyla off for cussing. She's appreciate that later, right now she was too distracted to think of it. She felt sick to her stomach, chair danging in her hands as she stared a Skyler's horrifying new form.

Then finally Danny found his opening and gave Skyler a diamond hard punch to the side of the face (which Nyla had an excellent view of). Maybe all the new arms weren't that big a threat after all? If Danny could knock him out, then he wouldn't be conscious to control the arms. However it didn't look like one punch was going to do it. It was enough to topple Skyler, but he was quick to get back up, turning on Danny and Abby. Nyla shouted and waved her chair, but she'd already completely lost his attention. However Abby was managing to block and defend now, her powers must have kicked in!

Finally Skyler collapsed, Nyle released the chair, assuming this was over, but no! Skyler was writhing and screaming as the back arms shot off his body, thrashing around the room. S--t. No, no, no! Nyla snatched the chair back up and ran over to the nearest arm, bashing it repeatedly with the chair.

Ka-Boom!

Nyla, with her superspeed looked up fast enough to see an arm flying from the stage, then the shy boy creating a large bubble that also when boom. Though softer than the first boom. Returning to her task, she batted the arm into a nearby wall (cracking the drywall) with the chair. Two arms down? Four to go?

Then Nyla dashed up onto the stage. She gave a friendly warning as she checked on Kyuu, “Careful, I'm on your left. That was some explosion! You're okay, right?”

In the distance sirens were roaring,help was finally getting close. Meanwhile Skyler's main body continued to moan and writhe on the floor, while the other four arms created chaos across the room. Thankfully, most of the citizens seemed to have evacuated at this point. Nyla gave Kyuu a nod and sped off to Danny and Abby, suggesting to Danny, “Hey, punch him again before he can get up. He might have a psychic connection to the arms, or something, right? So, see if you can knock him out!”

 

[Sketchie]

Melanie Briggs
School Auditorium
​

Melanie watched the chaos unfolding around her, unsure of what to do. Those who shoved her aside were right. She was effectively useless here, wasn't she..? All of her classmates got something useful in a fight, like diamond durability, super speed, even armor creation... and she was water. Pretty water. Woo. She could maybe get in the way and be a distraction, but it seemed like that wasn't really going to be of any help either what with Skyler now shooting arms everywhere. What we really needed was more people...

...Wait.

Not everyone had been evacuated. There had to be supers among them, the serum was so common by this point that most of the strangers you meet probably took one at their own graduation or later. Maybe they just needed a little bit of encouragement. Melanie took one glance at Skyler, and then ran towards the crowds.

Being made of water made moving around quite simple. She swept in like an ocean breeze, taking a deep breath. Here goes nothing, part two. "Oh, won't anybody help?" Melanie said, her voice dripping with honey. "There can't be so few of us, please, can't you help?" She danced through the crowd of those who hadn't evacuated yet, looking deep into their eyes as she pleaded with them. Her powers may be new, but she was doing all she could to turn the charm up to eleven.

"Please, won't you help me?"

 

[Monster Guy]

Danny Davis
School Auditorium

Danny looked at his fist than back at Skyler as he managed to make the bully topple. D-did I really just do that? There was no time to think about that. Skyler and his many arms tried to retaliat, but Abby pulled him aside, and defended. In the process, she suddenly got covered in aluminum like the folding chairs. Not as sturdy has Danny’s own diamond skin, but it did the job.

Skyler became even more upset than he was before, and let out a loud roar, that suddenly became an unpleasant noise that even hurt Skyler himself. He doubled over and covered his ears. It looked like this fight was over... Except no it wasn’t. More arms popped out of Skyler’s back. They thrashed wildly around the room, seeming to act on their own. As if Skyler’s transformation earlier wasn’t disgusting enough already. Now there were a bunch of disembodied arms crawling around.

Then there were a couple of explosions. It seemed like Kyuu’s powers finally kicked in too.

Danny could also hear the sounds of sirens blaring in the distance. This would all be over soon. Skyler was still on the stage convulsing and screaming, while some of his disembodied arms were causing trouble for everyone. Nyla sugested he try punching Skyler again to knock him out, and get all the arms under control. Danny nodded without a word, and approached his bully, and punched him with both fists. Multiple times. “This is for all the hell you put me through! This for all the people you’ve hurt! And this is just because you’re a bully and an asshole! It’s not so nice is it?!“ Danny taunted. “I hate you so much!”

 

[VampirateMace]

Nyla
School Auditorium

Nyla jumped back into action, grabbing another chair and beating a nearby arm away from them as Danny started to move. It flopped onto another chair, knocking it over and causing a clatter. Danny's attack was furious from what Nyla managed to see and hear of it. It was as if he was punching out all the frustrations Skyler had caused him over the years, which to be fair, he probably was. Nyla could hear the rage in his voice and the sick thud of the impacts, he got at least six punches in. . .

Meanwhile a trio of civilians, two guys and a girl, broke away from the crowd on hearing Melanie's pleads. As the guys pushed forward, getting in front of her protectively, the girl set a hand on her arm, suggesting gently, “Don't you worry now, we've got you.”

The guy to the left transformed his hands and arms into large blade-like paddles of bone, while the guy on the right started emitting a dark smoky substance all over his body. The guy on the left let out a battle cry and they dashed forward. Smoke drifted towards Skyler as the guy on the left beat one of the stray arms, then smacked it back at Skyler (thankfully hitting his target and not Danny).

The girl beside Melanie lifted a hand, she made a swiping motion and the abandon chairs started to slide in front of them, creating a rudimentary barrier in front of the two of them. It wasn't much, but it was something.

. . . as Danny pulled back from his sixth punch, Skyler, bloody from being punched the face repeatedly, suddenly roared and pushed himself up. The arms still attached to his body spread wide and his body shook. Then his body started expanding again, as he continued to roar in pain. His head crashed into the ceiling. Chips of lightweight composite ceiling tile fell around him and his roars became even more strained. Then suddenly, he collapsed in a horrible heap.

The sirens, which had been getting louder and louder all this time, had stabilized in volume. Then, as the last of the civilians exited, police, paramedics, and firefighters pushed their way in. There were a few moments of chaos as they checked the scene, checked who was injured, and evacuated the brave students, civilians, and heroes. Star Archer, now conscious, was carried out on a stretcher. And when asked later about the event, he suggested, “It seems his body just couldn't take that much stress.”

(This is going to be the end of our RP, feel free to make a final post and/or an epilogue for your character, but this is the end of this story.)

 

[InnerFlame]

Kyuu
School Auditorium to Outside

And with several strikes from Danny, the Skyler problem was resolved. In the grand scheme of things, Kyuu wasn't really all that helpful. This whole conflict probably would have fine without him. Even so, standing his ground and getting up despite being afraid gave Kyuu a bit more courage. Maybe next time, instead of being just an unimportant NPC he would reach at least a side character level. He'll have to figure out the condition of his bubbles explosions first though.

Silently marched towards the exit of the building. As he was passing by he gave Danny a near-inaudible good job. Kyuu noiselessly exited the school himself. The sound of sirens and chattering of people filled the air. It took only a few steps outside before his name was immediately shouted loudly over the noise. His gray eyes locked onto the matching colors of his Dad's. Pointing a gentle smile at the worried man seemed to almost bring his science teacher dad to tears. He flew to his side in an instant.

"Kyuu! I was so worried!" His dad pulled him into a tight embrace. His face scrunched in slight pain, but he was equally delighted to see that his dad made it out unharmed himself. Kyuu rests his head on his dad's chest as he let out a relieved breath. "Thank God, you're okay! You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"

"I'm alright," Kyuu answered with a mixed tone. He was quite remorseful for worrying his dad, but at the same time, a bit amused he asked that after giving him a bone-crushing bearhug. "Sorry for worrying you." His eyes trailed to the ground as he regretfully apologized for his careless actions that made his dad so anxious. The hug got a little tighter after those words. Kyuu heard his father quietly say that he was just happy he was okay. His voice sounded like he was holding back tears. Quietly, he enjoyed the warmth of his father's embrace.

"Kyuu!!!" A second concerned voice called his name turned his gaze as must as it could within hug to them. His cousin, Bell, who had come to watch his graduation looked out frantic and short of breath. With some effort, he raised his hand and smiled softly at him. The older young man just stared for quite a while at the two of them hugging without a word.

Tears formed at the edge of Bell's eyes and he came sprinting toward them. The seventeen-year-old flinched closed his eyes. Kyuu's body tensing a bit as Bell tackled the two of them into a hug. They stumbled back but manage to not fall over. The strength of Bell's embrace made Kyuu's back crack and squeeze some air out of him. He felt some wetness plop onto his head.

"I... wa...zz... s...s...sooo... worr...ed," Bell full-on wept and attempted to speak with small amount of success. "H-h...e...did...'t... urt... u?" Kyuu managing to understand his words garbled by his excessive sobbing. It made his heart tighten seeing his normally cheerful cousin burst into tears because of him. He frowned though it was still touching that care that much for him.

"I'm... really sorry..." Kyuu apologized to him quietly due to a sense of shame and lack of oxygen. He would have patted his back if her arms were trapped by two people firmly squeezing him from two sides. His apology made his cousin viciously shakes his head. The young adult's light brown hair tickled Kyuu's face a bit.

"No... it'z that... idiot'z fault... stupid idiot, drunkard... without... a single brain cell..." Bell's words became clearer though still a bit slurred. Anger slipped into his tone as he started talking about Skyler. A grimace appeared on his tear-soaked face as he thought about that reckless, drunk idiot. "...What part of his brain... made him believe that was a good idea... what a complete idiot!"

"Now, Bell you shouldn't talked that way about that poor troubled kid." Kyuu's Dad slightly reprimanded him for his harsh words. Bell merely huffed annoyedly as a response. "As a teacher... wonder if there was more I could have done for him." His father murmured softly and a little regretful that this happened to one of the students of the school.

"There was little chance of helping that trainwreck..." Bell bitterly mumbled under his breath. His tears had stopped but the reddened skin around his eyes and nose remained as evidence of his crying. "Kyuu, you a did a good job escaping unscathed by that hulking abomination."

"Belvedere." His father called out with a stern look in his eyes though Bell remained completely unremorseful for his words.

"Um..." Kyuu started to speak up again, "C-could you guys... loosened your hugs... it's a bit painful..." Though he was silently bearing with it, he was starting to get a little light-headed from the air depravity. The two simultaneously released him from their embrace. The air and color of his face came back to him.

They continued to fret over him afterward as they began to leave the area. Kyuu could feel the eyes of people that were around staring at their exaggerated antics and worrying. All he could do was smile despite everything. He played an extremely minor role in this disaster of graduation, but he felt this was only the first step. An incredibly small step, but it felt it was at least in the right direction. His dream of maybe being a superhero might not be an impossible feat. Though even if it doesn't work out, Kyuu felt less hesitant to risk reaching out for that goal.

"Dad, Bell... when we get home... let me show you my power," Kyuu told them a little proud despite his mostly timid demeanor. "It's... pretty cool." His eyes looked up happily from the ground with a little bit more confidence.