~*~Marvel: SINGULARITY (Begins! LSU's Accepted)~*~

[Mew Master]

MARVEL
SINGULARITY

It was known as the “Event.” Cataloged by the military as “34c-236 Alpha Case Designate: MELTDOWN.

On January 12th, 2001, in Miami Florida, a force exploded with the destructive power of a thermo-nuclear bomb. Miami was leveled and the surrounding area was flattened. Hundreds upon thousands of people died in the blast and much of the lower coast of Florida was now barren real-estate being taken by the sea.

The country was in panic. Who could have leveled the lower part of Florida so effectively. The FBI, CIA, and every Homeland security institution was searching for answers. What they found, wasn't pretty. Using surveillance satellites, the cause of the explosion wasn't a regular bomb. It was a living bomb. Satellite images showed that a young woman was the source of the explosion.

Anti-Metahuman sentiment skyrocketed. Regular people, the majority were afraid, and scared. So was the government. Up till this point, many Metahumans or so-called Super Heroes had been vigilantes working to help the common man. But, the “Event” changed all that.

Some were killed, others were run out of town, others went underground. The National Guard was called in on numerous accounts to try and quell the fighting, but usually making things more complicated, and bloody. The government called for a strict registration on any individual with any kind of natural, scientific, or supernatural enhancement or abilities so that they could be monitored.

Not everyone agreed with this.

Tensions rose, until in 2003, a number of metahumans charged in and took out Washington D.C., claiming it theirs and effectively issuing a war against the United States of America. The military was mobilized. Easily held off, the President asked for the “heroes” to end the situation.

The results, shocked everyone.

The assailants were more organized than the saviors, acting as effective guerrillas and the heroes nothing more than show-boaters. The heroes were beaten, many killed, and the survivors went into hiding.

Victorious, the assailants, took more territory, forcing the U.S. Government to relocate to NORAD. States east of the Rockies and below the 40th Latitude were divided into territories, controlled by various hierarchies. What remains is the rest of the United States is controlled by the federal government.

However things are different. The government itself is taking an interest in “protecting” its citizens and taking precautions to avoid a repeat of the “Event.” This has set up a school where Metahumans and other “gifted” children and adolescents go. They not only go for learning, but also to harness their power so that they do not lose control.

This school, is stationed in the Washington countryside. It is the first one built and funded by the government, and eats up a considerable amount of the budget. The most important reason this school is allowed to exist, is because of the headmistress herself.

So now, over 8 years after the “Event” the school is still getting it's footing. The walls have been cleared for a new class of students, and the senior students still have much to learn. They are taught not only on education, but also combat and control. There are plans for these students, different factions in the United States Government and their views how to deal with the “threat” metahumans pose to national security.

The students are monitored, tutored, and the school is prone to government inspection by the higher-ups. But what the students must remember, is who they are, and what they can accomplish.

There is more to the world, than just a Singularity.

Welcome.. to my THIRD attempt to run a Marvel/X-Men/Superhero RPG. A few things to start:

Late Sign-Ups (LSUs) are Still being accepted. Check here for refreshers on teachers, NPC students, ect:

Sign Up Topic

If you wish to plot, discuss powers, and have a rip-roarin good time, check out our Lounge Topic:

Breifing Room

PC Students:
Steven Wiles - Demon (Mew Master)
Valen Ethan - Tracer (Mew Master)
Justin Lythego - Zer0 (Darth CookieMonster)
Reserved (Asylinne)
Valentine (Mystic Clown)
Michael Vargas - Whirlwind (DivineAll)
Stephanie Page - Spectre (Heald)
Reserved (Crystal Tears)
Lorelei “Rory” Cooper - Chameleon (ChobiChibi)
Sara Edwards - Sola (Samchu)

Now, for mine.

Name: Steven Wiles
Codename: Demon
Age: 16
Sex: Male
Year: Greenhorn
Description: Steven’s transformation drastically altered his physical state. No longer human, he stands at a little over seven feet tall, weighs 512 lbs, and is 20 feet 10 inches long from snout to tail. His arms are muscled, but thin, with some bony scutes protruding from his biceps. Along his back are jagged, boney dorsal spines, recurved forward. These spines get larger around his shoulder, then become reduced constantly until the tip of his tail. Steven’s legs are digigrade, with three digits on the ground, and a fourth vestigial “hallex” like structure on the outside edge of his leg. His head is rectangular, slightly wedge-shaped. His has no lips, so his teeth are crocodilian, bursting from the edges of his jaws and resting against the outside edge of the opposite jaw. Covered in thick, charcoal black scales, Steven looks like something out of hell itself. With blazing red eyes that sometimes glow and pent-up energy seems to emanate from them as he fights and loses himself to his animal instincts.
Personality: Steven is quiet, not like he was before his mutation came forth. He slinks from the shadows, watching everything. Deep down inside, we wants to make friends, and have fun like he used to. However, his current condition makes him shy away from others, only appearing in a flash of scales, claws, and blazing red eyes. Ashamed of himself, he has been known to stay in his room since arriving in an armored transport under the cover of darkness.
Power Type: Mutant
Powers: Transformed body into a Saurian-like creature. Armor-piercing claws and teeth, long tail, bone spikes, accelerated healing factor, increased strength, dexterity, agility, speed, and senses.
Weapon(s): Teeth, claws, strength, dexterity, speed. Steven IS a weapon.
Drawbacks: While being the closest thing to a living weapon, Steven has difficulty controlling his baser animal instincts. The transformation caused a hormone imbalance that leaves him more in-tune with raw instinct. The loss of his reason can be brought on by the scent of blood, the taste, or just the adrenaline rush of combat. It can also come forth in more basic instinctual desires and needs.
Relationships: Has a mom and brother. Both believe him to be dead. Father is unknown.
History: Steven Wiles has always been a little off. Despite his general well rounded physical abilities he had a massive appetite that nearly forced his mother to go broke feeding him and his brother, Robert. Even with his massive craving for food of any type, he never seemed to gain a pound of fat during his life looking like a human. What no one could guess, however is that his body was preparing itself for the energy needed for when his mutation finally started to surface.

One morning, Steven had skipped breakfast, which lead that day to go from bad to worse. Starving, and agitated, his body underwent a transformation. Changing his human form to that of a seven-foot reptile with sharp claws and a long tail for balance, Steven nearly went into a feeding frenzy due to the energy released during the awakening of his mutant powers. The school was sent into a craze, and it was reported that Steven himself had died in the following publications of a monster loose on the school. The Government came in and captured Steven. There were plans to study him, before the headmistress of the school informed them that he was a mutant, and was still in the throws of his powers awakening.

Restrained and brought to the school under intense guard, Steven, (now going as Demon) is one of the more monstrous additions to the student body.

Other: His brother is a mutant as well. What he can do and where he is at, is unknown. No one at the academy besides the staff know about Steven's existence.... for now.
Theme: Animal I have Become

Note: Demon is not at the school at the start of the RPG. So there better be no mention of a reptile on campus until we get to that point. Comprende? X)!

Name: Valen Ethan
Codename: Tracer
Age:12
Sex: Male
Year: Greenhorn (As far as the school is concerned)
Description: Tracer is about average for a 12 year old. With a small build and thin body. His clothes are loose fitting with lots of pockets to hold his various gadgets. His hair is black, cut short and either ruffled or combed depending on the appearance he wants to achieve. His glasses are small computer screens that he can modify for a variety of uses. Tracer's hair is dark and his skin is pale. Strikingly thin, he could be tossed around easily and isn't very physically fit. When he can get away with it he wears clothes with lots of pockets that can hold his varying gadgets, most of this clothing colored a earthy red-brown.
Personality: In person, he’s quiet, seems shy, but doesn’t go around telling people that he’s ten times smarter than they are. He can’t stand blatant stupidity, but understands that people can forget little things that make all the difference, as such he’ll point it out in a few words. He’s blunt, to the point, but treats others with respect if they’ve earned it. Distrusting of some others, he can keep himself distant from his intellectual and developmental peers. When he finds something he can’t figure out, he obsesses over it, trying to learn everything he can about it. How it works, why it does what it does, how can it be applied for something else?
Power Type: Natural
Powers: Staggering Intellect. Tracer has four PhDs in Computer Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Physics, and Electrical Systems, and almost a dozen MS and MAs in other fields (Biology, Chemistry, Architecture, Geology, just to name a few). His mind works faster than a supercomputer, and his interest in electronics allows him to navigate through computer databases as fast and silently as a wolf in the forest. He’s also been the fore-front at a lot of technology research to make several gadgets, computer systems, and robots that are dozens of years beyond what we have. He can hack through the computer systems of several governmental agencies in hours and does so just to prove that he can (despite that's how he got caught).
Weapon(s): No natural weapons (besides his mind), Tracer uses various weapons and gadgets that he makes.
Drawbacks: Physically weak. Tracer can't take a punch very well.
Relationships: He hasn't made friends in real life easy. Tracer may open up to other students. Fascinated by Sigil-038. Almost to the point of fandom, but doesn’t really have much else in the way of an emotional attachment to her. Or it may be because she acts more like a mother than his biological mom ever did.
History: Tracer’s history is swamped in mystery and background search dead-ends. However the buzz going around the net is as follows:

Tracer’s family was a low-middle class family working in the hub of Chicago. Even from a young age his intellect was way past what his parent’s were capable of. However, they failed to recognize his intelligence even if the grade school instructors wanted to have him go forward in classes, closer to his intellectual peers. His parents scoffed at the idea. So, he forged their consent with his own brand of hacking and was able to excel in school, surprising his teachers beyond their notions. When he showed sufficient scores to get into any university he wanted, his parents thought it a joke and left him there where he was.

So he forged a new name and background from the depths of the net, and passed himself off as someone else who was super intelligent and very young. Taking virtual college courses as well as on campus classes at the nearest college, he would have made headlines, if he hadn’t expressed his own concern for such a thing and keeping his college instructors from doing so.

He graduated head of every class, and gained three degrees within a few short years. After getting his doctorates and offered several teaching positions, he turned them down. He tried to get his parents to accept his intelligence one more time, but it failed miserably, his parents thinking it a prank or childish daydream. Frustrated, he ran away from home.

He managed to survive off of hacking a few accounts, taking the rounded interest off of compounded finances in different banks. No one suspected anything as this young man lived on his own. However he hacked government computers for kicks, not taking any information, but simply proving that he could. One day he hacked into a highly secured agency. Before the hacker realized it, he was caught in the programing and there was a knock at the door.

Agents of POLICE had tracked his signal to his door and arrested the young man. The head director, both impressed and concerned with the young man's skills, offered him an option. They could erase his past, and leave him a ghost, locked down with nothing, or Valen could enroll in the Isiu Academy and once he graduated would be offered a position at POLICE if not a job of his choosing in the governments intelligence agencies.
Other: His electronic actions are constantly being monitored by POLICE to test his skills and to ensure that Tracer doesn't over-step his boundaries. The young hacker hasn't found a way to hide his trail from them yet, but he's working on it.
Theme: Pretender (Foo Fighters), EGGMAN Remix

Alright everyone, it's orientation. Welcome to the Isiu Academy. Take some time to get to know your roomates, your fellow schoolmates, and explore the academy and run into some of the other teachers.

A note:

These are those that have already arrived/have been here before and already have room assignments are, of course, the Juniors and Seniors.

Roomates and Room Numbers:

RM 3: Sonia and Lorelei
RM 4: Sara and Dawn
RM 5: Tracer and Justin
RM 6: Valentine and Aiden
RM 7: Michael and Richard
RM 8: Stephanie and Hailey
RM 9: (Asi)
RM 10: Scott

The teachers have their own rooms, and here are your dorm assignments. Have fun exploring kiddies.

TPM Comics Presents
Marvel: Singularity
Issue 1: New Arrivals
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Date and Time: 10:15 AM, Wednesday, August 17th 2011
Location: Isiu Academy for Gifted Youths, Courtyard Round-about
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun was shining brightly in the late-morning sky. In the Washington countryside, a scant three hour drive from Seattle, was a large estate. Originally a mansion, it has undergone several expansions in the last few years, and another construction project this summer. Days ago the work was finished, and the Isiu Academy was up and running.

While known to the public as a private school for the gifted, it held a more important role than that. Being a place for metahumans to learn, receive training, and be morphed into useful members of society. Should the results from the first class be exceptional, the public's distrust of metahumans may curve off.

Many humans were still angered at the outcome of the Battle for DC that occurred in 03, and the resulting fallout. When the southern portion of the United States was taken over by metahumans, normal people who still resided there were trapped. At the whim of the powerful beings. Some left, but not all could escape, and metahumans were branded as megalomaniac dangers to planetary security.

Thus began the Metahuman Registry Force, and the Academy.

The Registry was an international organization founded by the UN in secret, and given enough funds to go anywhere in the world. Their job was to round up any metahumans and detain them, minimizing the danger as they were transferred to a high security institution. However the first results were not welcomed by the metahumans in the southern US.

As a countermeasure, the Academy was pushed forth by Tina Tourmaline, who herself was a Metahuman. Her ability involved being able to 'shut down' the active abilities of other metahumans, and she influenced the committee’s decision from incarceration to building a school. However, the school was placed as a sub-division of the Registry.

Tina, the headmistress of the Academy, stood on the stairs of the mansion, looking out onto the driveway. Cars of families had been pulling up for the last few hours, as students new and old alike were brought to the school. There was a soft fragrance of flowers as she stood there, a soft breeze blowing as she welcomed some of the returning students, and introduced herself to new ones.

A young girl came out of the mansion. She was short, appearing to be around 10 years old with short blonde hair. Despite her young appearance, she was the second oldest at the school. A smile on her face, wearing blue overalls she skipped over to Tina.

“Hiya boss,” Mary “Titan” Elizabeth chirped. “Draco says everything's up and running.”

“Excellent, we wouldn't want any malfunctions with the students we have this year. Some of their abilities are very.... advanced.”

“Any word from Sigil?”

Tina checked her watch. “She mentioned she was bringing some of the new students from POLICE custody. She should be coming up the drive any minute now.”

“POLICE?” Mary asked. “What did they do?”

“One hacked into their computer systems.”

Mary had to start laughing. “You're kidding me! Kid's gotta have a trap-jaw mind and a glass jaw.”

“Miss Tourmaline,” said a voice from the mansion doors.

Mary and Tina turned to see another instructor venturing outside. Brittany Chance was mostly human, but with some slightly different characteristics. Her hair was long and light colored, but had an appearance of being more feather like than hair, contrasting with her toned skin. Blazing green eyes looked out at the world. Feathers or fluff, similar to her hair, could be seen starting from her neck and disappearing down the front of her torso, under her blouse. More spots of the feather-like structures seemed to run along from her wrists to her elbows.

“Yes Chance?” the headmistress replied.

“I'm concerned about the one named Valentine. His upbringing may be a difficult stumbling block, considering he was raised with anit-meta sentiment. The sessions I've had with him before making the decision to bring him here he's shown several outward signs of aggression and hatred.”

“You're just mad because he called you a feather duster,” Mary quiped.

“Ahem,” Chance cleared her throat, a bit ruffled at the reminder. “My point is, it'll take time to break through his programing. And I fear he may try to attack some of the students.”

“I understand your concern Chance,” Tina stated. “If we are able to bring in Valentine and show that metahumans are not different from humans, we can look forward to healing the rift between the two. Have a little faith.”

“I am still worried.”

“We'll keep an eye on him.” Mary replied.

“Yes,” Tina looked out at the horizon as the sun continued to rise. “We have a brighter future to work for.” As a school van turned onto the driveway, Sigil with the students.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There ya go guys, it begins. First few posts will involve the basic Moving Day chaos that we all got in college, and after the preliminaries, then we'll get to the fun stuff.

Just a note: Two of the students are being brought in by Sigil. These are Valentine and Tracer. Everyone else will either have arrived, or be arriving by car from family (if applicable). As stated, Demon is not in the school yet. So no dinosaurs running around. :3

I feel generous, let's go nuts!

[Samchu]

Name: Sara Edwards
Codename: Sola
Age: 10
Sex: Female
Year: Junior – although this is the first year she’s mingling with the other students.
Description: At four foot, Sara is considered to be on the short end of the age bracket. She has dark brown hair and blue eyes. Physically she’s of average build. Currently she’s in the jeans and t-shirt phase.
Personality: Sara is very shy. Her powers make her afraid of interacting with people because she’s scared of hurting them. Tina has helped her ease out of this bubble but it’s still difficult for her to approach people. She’s usually nervous at the start of a conversation but eases up the longer the conversation goes on. In groups she would be the quiet one, contributing less and less as the size of the group increases. She’s intelligent and well-spoken but often comes across as being younger than she is in terms of social interaction because she is still learning the social norms associated with her age. She is prone to sudden and unexpected mood swings, usually towards the ‘bluer’ emotions such as fear, sadness, etc. There is no obvious trigger for these changes. Tina believes it has something to do with Sara’s history and the bulk of their therapy sessions have centred on trying to find a root, with no success. On the odd occasion she will do something that appears out of character but this is rare and often goes unnoticed.
She has nightmares on occasion, though their content changes the location seems to be the same. She’s told Tina about them but can’t make any sense of them herself. She’ll be on edge the next morning if she has one and hyper-alert. Otherwise, she is very receptive. Despite her fears she is eager to learn and though she distances herself away from people she gravitates towards knowledge and in her free time is an avid reader of both fiction and non. On the odd occasion she will do something that appears out of character but this is rare and often goes unnoticed.
There is a dark side to her that she hasn’t experienced and knows very little about. She is aware that there is something in her mind that feels like it shouldn’t be there but she keeps it buried and it doesn’t bother her. She hasn’t mentioned it to Tina.
Power Type: Mutagenic
Powers: Sara’s body acts as a processor for thermo-nuclear energy. She absorbs energy through her skin and channels it internally through her body before releasing it again. Normally, the process is harmless. The only effects are that she always feels warm to the touch and will pass on a little heat to whatever she touches. Not enough to affect the item structurally but for a few moments it will feel the same as if it had been sitting in the sun for a little while. The length and strength of this effect varies depending on the amount of thermo-nuclear energy that she’s exposed to. Typically, the only energy source available is the sun, thus her body has a built-in defence mechanism that stores some of the sunlight in her body and releases it slowly as she’s sleeping. Her power is controlled by blocking the internal channels through which the energy flows, keeping it trapped in her body, and then opening a specific channel to direct the flow out of a specific area of her body. However, Sara hasn’t been able to figure out how to do this intentionally. A powerful emotional experience will affect the opening and closing of her channels, resulting in small explosions.
Weapon(s): Just her.
Drawbacks/Challenges: Physically weak (she’s a kid), lack of control over her powers, mental instability, no way of regenerating energy if it’s night time (unless she’s standing next to a nuclear reactor or something).
Relationships: Tina is her unofficial guardian and the only person Sara has been able to get close to because she is able to nullify her powers.
History: Sara was adopted by the Edwards, an elderly couple living out the start of their retirement who decided that they didn’t have much fun with only themselves for company. It was an unusual and short-lived arrangement. Sara never settled into the family and the Edwards struggled to cope with their new daughters’ mental instability. Inevitably, Sara caused a small explosion. The act alerted her presence to Tina who arrived and, recognising both the girl’s ability and psychological trouble, brought her to Isiu. She was given a room beside the headmistress’ and spent a year taking one-on-one classes, therapy sessions, and what Tina called “learning lessons about life”. Despite remaining in private lessons, Tina has encouraged Sara to go to lunch with the other kids and try and be more social so Sara will actually make appearances around the school when classes aren’t running.
Everything that happened before then is a mystery. She has a vague memory of being carried by a woman with short blonde hair. Although the memory is blurred, she remembers the woman’s face clearly and always finds it has a calming effect on her. Under Tina’s instruction she uses it to try and supress any strong emotional sways that might threaten to affect her powers.
Other: If I find a song I’ll put it here but I don’t have one in mind right now so mehhhh.




Sara
~~~

At the end of the corridor was a window facing the entrance of the school. She had made herself comfy on the windowsil over an hour earlier so she could watch the students arrive. She had convinced herself that doing so would make them seem less daunting when the time came to actually mingle with them. A brief shudder moved through her body as she thought about it. Was she ready? Tina had been convinced that she would only benefit from the new social interactions. But I'm still scared.

The first sounds of footsteps on the stairs made her back tense. Were these her new neighbours? She'd been moved into a room in the students' section a week earlier to help with the socialising process but she still hadn't settled. It felt wrong to be so far from Tina's room and she didn't like the long walk to the headmistress' room from her own. Maybe if her nightmares got worse or more frequent she'd be allowed to return to her old room but she knew how stubborn Tina could be about such things. She was going to have to accept this new room as her own.

As the stranger reached the top of the stairs Sara released the breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Chloe smiled at the girl. "That was easier than I was expected."

Sara liked Chloe. Not that there was anyone the staff that she particularly disliked but Chloe was one of her favourites. She was the one who'd explained to Sara how her powers worked and had taken her on the first step to controlling them. Granted, the girl had hardly progressed since then. Chloe was also Sara's favourite tutor, though whether that was because of Chloe herself or Sara's preference for the sciences, she wasn't sure. "What was?"

"Tina asked me to check on you."

Sara couldn't help but smile. She'd hardly seen anything of the headmistress that last week as she'd been so pre-occupied with the arrangements for the new term. It was nice to know she was still in the woman's thoughts. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Nervous?"

"A little."

"You'll be fine."

Sara nodded and Chloe mirrored the gesture.

"I better get where I need to be." She turned and headed back down the stairs.

Sara couldn't shake the feeling that she should have said something to the woman but despite the time they'd spent together the two still weren't very close. It hadn't even been that long since Sara wasn't even able to speak to Chloe outside of class.

More movement came from downstairs. This time there were voices, mixed and excited, and the sounds of things shifting. This is it. Here they come. For a moment she considered running back to her room and hiding but she forced herself to stay. It would help, she told herself. As the sounds got louder she found herself gripping the window's edge, deterring any rebellious thoughts her legs might have of carrying her into hiding. Her mind wandered back to her last meeting with Tina and the words she had said to her:

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine."

[Mew Master]

TPM Comics Presents
Marvel: Singularity
The Brilliant TRACER
Issue 1: Lock and Key
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Date and Time: 10:09 AM, Wednesday, August 17th 2011
Location: State Road 45, Driving to the Academy
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Valen Ethan sat in the black van. Next to him was an elder boy, near legal age. The boy sat there, stoic, silent, nearly a rock as the vehicle drove along the road. Valen tried to figure out the young man, looking at him and going over possible things that he did. Granted, Valen had hacked into POLICE computers and got caught in an anti-hacker program that refused his systems to exit without shutting them off and revealing his location.

He obviously didn't find a way through.

Now here he was, sitting in a van with two strangers being taken to somewhere out in the boondocks for school. School of all things. Didn't they know he had accumulated a couple of PhD's in the last two years? School was the last thing he needed.

He stared out the window, the three hour drive continuing in silence. As the drive continued, he caught a glimpse of a large estate, but paid it no mind as the car continued. Trees and brush whipped by as their driver, a woman who identified herself as Sigil, stuck to the road with eerie precision. Sitting next to her was a middle-aged man who addressed himself as Eldridge.

Valen caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye and looked out the back window. His eyes widened when he saw a large dust cloud building behind the car, by something moving even faster. The thing zoomed by as a blur of yellow, its draft hitting the car and causing Sigil to maintain control in the wind.

“What was that?!” Valen exclaimed. “That had to have been going about....” doing the calculations in his head. “738 miles per hour!”

“Not what. Who.” Sigil repeated, calmly.

“That... was a person?”

“Sonia. Showing off.” Eldridge remained quiet.

Valen sat back, looking at the dust trail as it began to disappear, but the source was heading along another road, and turning back towards the estate Valen saw earlier. The rest of the trip was quiet as Sigil pulled up along the road and into a round-about near the main building's stairs. There were a few other cars along the round-about, with people pulling suitcases and the like out. Three figures stood at the top of the stairs, and seemed to be the people in charge.

The van parked and Sigil got out. “We're here.”

He opened his door and stood out, stretching his legs after the long ride. Eldridge stood near him and the other young man that they had brought. Sigil grabbed some bags from the back of the van and placed them near Valen and the young man before they were escorted up the stairs. Valen was going over things in his head, trying to pick up on physical cues from Sigil, Eldridge, and the passenger who didn't reveal his name the entire trip, hardly talked at all.

They arrived at the top stairs as Eldridge, refereed to as Director Eldridge by the taller woman. She was tall, with shoulder length dark hair and somehow reminded Valen of a field of wildflowers. He heard her refereed to as Tourmaline, and the name rang some bells. Tina Tourmaline was well known in social circles for her buisness skills and compelling discussions. She had managed to raise a small fortune but it wasn't disclosed what had been done with it.

Guess this may have answered that.

“These are the new arrivals. Valen Ethan, charged with several counts of corporate espionage, poses a threat to national security. Valentine, administered under the guide of his guardian, limit of capabilities unknown.” Eldridge told the headmistress.

Tracer mulled over in his mind the information that was being exchanged. Sure the list of things he had done was long, but not like he was going to overthrow the government. That would take more effort than it was worth.

As the exchange was going on, discussing Valen and Valentine's sleeping arangements, Tina seemed to experience a headache as she closed her eyes and put her hand to her temple. Everyone was quiet for a few minutes before she regained her composure.

“Where?” Sigil asked. Seeming to know what was going on.

“Bozeman, Montana. In the next few minutes. It's very intense.. Seems to have lost himself...”

“Understood.” Sigil ran into the estate and disappeared.

“Where's she going?” Valen asked.

“Don't worry about that now. Le'ts get you settled in.” Tina smiled.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

[ChobiChibi]

Name: Lorelei “Rory” Cooper
Codename: Chameleon
Age: 17
Sex: Female
Year: Junior

Description: I guess the best way to identify Rory is by her clothing (you’ll see why when it comes to her powers). Her clothing is normally black or white in colour, or the many greys in between. Currently, she is wearing a long white t-shirt, with a sleeveless black cardigan over the top. Short blue (shock!) shorts, with black calf length leggings with black, beaten converse on her feet. She’s around 5’6’’ tall (although this can vary, but often not by much) and her body shape often changes, but is quite skinny at the moment. Her skin is fairly pale, her eyes an olive green and her hair is quite short, but bright pink, like this (ignore all that emo crap). But again, this is always subject to change. She’s required to wear this necklace at all times to identify her.

Personality: Rory likes to keep to herself most of the time, and finds that quite easy since not many people know her. She’s inwardly confident and not shy per say, just quiet and likes to get on with things. She has a mischievous side though, liking to play practical jokes on people by changing to look like someone else. It gets her into trouble sometimes though. She doesn’t like to be center of attention though, even if some of her more outrageous appearance choices draw attention to her, she doesn’t really intend it. She just wants to be happy in her own body, whatever that may be at the time. She’s level headed and a good listener, but will often keep her own worries and insecurities to herself. She will stand up for herself though and confide in her closer friends, even if she doesn’t have many at the moment. She's very observant of people, from habits, to the way that people sit or speak, often mimicking it subconsciously as she practices impersonating others.

Power Type: Mutant

Powers: Rory’s main and most noticeable power is the ability to change her appearance. This can be from just the colour of her hair or eyes, to her height, build, face shape, skin colour and race. It’s even believed that she may be able to change to have predominantly male features, but it’s not something she’s got much desire to try. She’s quite good at this though. At the moment she spends a lot of time practising how to look identical to other people.
She’s also discovered recently she has telekinesis, but it’s very weak. She can move small objects easily, but finds heavier objects more difficult, and also objects travelling at some speed. She hasn’t really tried on people.

Weapon(s): None

Drawbacks/Challenges: Some of the more drastic changes to her body can be quite painful, such as changing her height and bone structure, so she tends not to do this too often, unless she has to impersonate a certain person. They’re working on making it less painful for her though. Also, she still has trouble with telekinesis; if she’s not concentrating, she often drops things.

Relationships: She doesn’t know that many people at the school, since she changes her appearance so often (sometimes it can be daily if she’s not happy), people often confuse her with being a new student.

History: Rory discovered her powers by accident when she was around 8 years old. Sometimes she’d stare at the mirror and wish that her eyes were bluer and it would just happen. Or maybe she wanted her hair to be a little longer, or a little lighter in colour... Soon she figured out she could change most things, but she didn’t understand why, and sometimes it hurt, so she kept it to herself.
Her family life wasn’t exactly peachy. Her mum was subject to domestic violence from her father for as long as she can remember. He’d always promise to stop, and did for varying lengths of time, but never truly stopped. In secret, Rory practised looking like her mother, so when she had the chance, she could take the blows for her. Her father actually stopped when her mother got pregnant again, except for one fateful drunken incident when she was 11. Rory took her mother’s place, took one of the more violent of beatings, effectively saving her unborn sister’s life. The two of them moved out that very night.
So that’s how her mother found out about her powers. Before that night, she had been sceptical about mutants and others with seemingly supernatural powers, but after seeing how it can benefit people, she became much more understanding. Rory doesn’t really dwell on this incident much, she’s just happy that her little sister, Imogen, is alive and well.
It took four years for the school to finally find her. She had to show her passport, and of course, she had to match the photograph. They invited her to the school and her mother encouraged her to go. That was 2 years ago, she’s been at the school ever since.

Other: She has a great talent for drawing, especially people. Nobody knows what she truly looks like, since she changes so much, but she keeps a photograph of how she was originally, perhaps to remind herself.

Rory Cooper/Chameleon

The drive back to school was pretty similar to the others she’d done. Her Mom would ramble on about how the school would be so good for her, how her grades were improving, how nice it would be to have friends just like her.

Yeah... Just like her.

Rory, like always, would point out that they were all different. The only thing they shared was the mutual agreement that they were seen by the rest of society as weirdos. Today, though, this was certainly clear when Sonia raced past the car and the van in front of them, pretty much running laps around the school by the looks of things. She was always excitable, but there was a new bunch of students starting today, even more reason for her to be wound up.

“Imogen will be disappointed she missed that.” Her mom chuckled, glancing over her shoulder at her younger daughter, who was fast asleep on the back seat, a plushie bunny rabbit tucked under her arm.

“She can meet Sonia when we get there.” Rory shrugged, checking once more that her hair was the correct shade of pink.

“Do you think she’ll be disappointed if it turns out that she doesn’t have any powers?”

Rory turned around to look at her sister, wrapped up in a red Superman cape. She couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe, not too sure. She might change her mind in a few years time.”

“Lorelei, she has every reason to look up to a sister like you. I mean, if it weren’t for-”

“No, Mom.” Rory frowned, sinking down into her seat. “Let’s not talk about that.”

“Okay, okay...”

Thankfully, the silence that followed didn’t last very long, since they pulled up at the Academy. Imogen stirred, yawning loudly. “We’re here?”

Rory went straight for her suitcase, whereas her Mom went to tend to Imogen. She was hoping she’d be able to get to her room to dump her stuff before it got too busy, but Imogen had other ideas. She clung to one of her legs with one arm, reaching up to her with the other.

“Can’t you walk?” Imo shook her head. Rory sighed. “I’ve gotta carry my art supplies too...”

Imogen tugged on her cardigan. “Use your powers...” She whispered, a little excited smile spreading across her lips.

With another sigh, Rory picked up her sister, who clung to her neck, picked up her box of art supplies and headed towards the school, her suitcase wheeling itself along behind her. She stopped though, to take a look at the newbies.

One was short, young, and the other tall, lanky with a somewhat blank expression. She recognised him as Valentine, he was a Junior like her, but he didn’t give her a second glance. Of course he wouldn’t recognise her.

“Rory... Who’s that watching us out the window?”

She looked up to where her sister was pointing, seeing a girl not much older than Imogen staring back at them. The girl quickly moved away from the window once she realised she was spotted. “I dunno, never seen her before... We could go up and meet her if you like?”

A bit rubbish, but she's still outside, so people should go talk to her yo~

[DivineAll]

Name: Michael Vargas
Codename: Whirlwind
Age: 13
Sex: Male
Year: Greenhorn
Description: Michael is pretty standard-looking for a 13-year-old: average height and build. His hair is short, naturally messy, and black. Usually seen wearing a green T-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. Has a slightly pale, vampire-like complexion and cloudy-gray eyes. Micheal's most noticeable visual aspect is that he has either a toothpick or a lollipop in-between his lips.
Personality: Michael is quite clumsy and prone to mishap and misfortune, but is generally a nice and caring person. He prefers to live in the moment, and not looks towards the future or look back in the past much, although he's easily prone to the latter. He isn't really the most popular guy on campus, but has a fairly small group of friends he can call upon when the tough gets going. He tends to go for the obvious or simplest solution when trying to solve a problem, and will only develop a plan when things get really serious.
Power Type: Mutant
Powers: Michael has the ability to generate and control the wind and air. He also uses the wind to increase his speed and jumping ability, usually in conjunction with each other to fly. When Michael’s armed with a weapon, different effects tend to happen depending on the type of weapon: if it’s a bladed weapon, more damage is usually applied; if it’s a blunt weapon, more force is usually applied, and if it’s a ranged weapon, more speed is applied.
Michael also has the ability to breathe underwater, thanks to his air manipulation.
Weapon(s): None, although he does know how to use a vast majority of them for combat purposes.
Drawbacks/Challenges: As mentioned above, Michael is clumsy and prone to misfortune and mishap meaning he frequently causes accidents to happen, mostly upon himself. This is also the reason why he doesn't form plans that will resolve everything without causing any major physical and/or emotional damage often, because he knows it will backfire on him somehow in a spectacular way he never thought possible.
Relationships: Mother and father
History: Michael wasn’t exactly the most athletic person growing up, so he decided to try out for more sports-related activities once he entered middle school. It turned out he wasn’t really good or exceptional at any one of them except track, where he seemed to outrun everyone else who was trying out. Michael made the team, and won them many races for them early on in the school year. However, during a standard practice session the coach decided to really test Michael’s jumping and running abilities to the fullest by putting a whole bunch of hurdles close to each other in a row.

Even though he asked if he could really jump over them, Michael was convinced by his coach to do so. Michael made his run and jumped over the hurdles only for him to instead to fly across the air uncontrollably. As soon Michael got some semblance of control and landed back onto the ground, he asked his coach what happened. It turned out his coach was a scout for Isiu seeking out students who had extraordinary abilities like him and offered him to enroll in the Academy to help better control his abilities.

Other: Don’t ask him how’s the weather up there whenever he’s flying or you’ll wind up finding out yourself in an instant.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

+Outside the main building's stairs+

"Now I want you to try and visit us at least twice per month, just to let us know how you're doing, what you're learning, and if you want to withdraw from the school."

Michael rolled his eyes and sighed towards the woman doting over him, "Mother, we live in Seattle. The drive it takes here is a few hours even with pit stops. I can practically visit you anytime I want to, especially once I learn to fly properly."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with him, dear." The mustachioed man standing near the two. "Once he learns to control his air powers, he can visit us in practically an instant... as well as help with the cleaning without making even more of a mess."

"Dad!" Michael groaned. "That was only one time!" Michael's father scoffed, "This month. After you discovered those air abilities of yours and your mother insisted in helping her with the cleaning, it was practically the equivalent of a garbage dump after the first try. The other tries... I still don't want to talk about them..."

Michael rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Me neither. I still don't know how on the fifth try the entire contents of the kitchen got mixed with every bathroom in the house."

The three had a light laugh remembering the noodle incident. Michael's dad looked around a bit before saying, "So where's Coach Blake? Wasn't he supposed to be here helping you get used to the surroundings?"

"He has more recruiting to do outside the school." Michael immediately said. "He doesn't actually work for the school, from what he said, but 'finds bright young minds filled with with astounding abilities by which no one has ever seen before by ordinary men'. I think he actually might be one the heroes still in the public view."

"Did he ever tell you which hero he was, sweetheart?" Michael's mother asked.

Michael simply stared at his mother as if the answer was already in front of her. "That's still a no then..." she said with a tone of disappointment.

Michael's father patted his son's shoulders. "Good luck, son. You're definitely gonna need it now where you're going."

Michael simply scoffed. "Please Dad, if I've learned anything since getting these powers is that somebody has it worse than me. If I do meet someone whose luck is worse than mine, which is incredibly likely, chances are my bad luck will turn into good luck as well as for the person I just met."

Michael's dad sighed, "Doubt your logic there, but it's probably true. Take care son."

"I will, Dad." Michael simply responded. Michael's mother simply waved her son goodbye as he watched his parents get back into the car and drove off back home. Michael picked up his luggage, and opened the doors to the Academy. He was now incredibly grateful that Coach Blake gave him and his parents a tour of the facilities before actually enrolling. Michael though to himself, 'Time to find my new room.'

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I wanted to make sure I posted this after the Captain America movie to get the right feel for what I wanted to write for my opening scene. Why not after X-Men: First Class? I felt The First Avenger was more appropriate for the whole unity factor with The Avengers movie coming up. Also because First Class isn't part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[Mystic_clown]

Valentine
*~*

The young man known as Valentine had remained completely silent throughout the trip to the academy, only speaking up when adressed by Sigil. He did not like this situation. Not one bit. He was going to a school for meta-humans, for the people he hated and was born to fight and kill. However, the professor had insisted, and after much pestering, Valentine had relented. After all, keeping ones enemies close could be useful. That and the possible training opportunities.

He payed little attention to the young man beside him, though he quietly studied him in his mind. As for as he could tell, all this guy had was a genius level intellect, nothing really meta-human about him. He was arrested for hacking police systems, so there was some danger to this man, but he had been caught, so there was a limitnto his abilities.

Threat level: Minimal with a possibility of moderate.

The group soon arrived at the academy, and Valentine and the young man were lead out to the headmistress, along with two teachers, who were waiting at the top of the stairs. Balfour remained silent, his eyes scanning them as they spoke to each other.

Will required more observation. But as their teachers here, it would be reasonable to place their threat level as high, at least for now.

He overheard something regarding a "he" in Montana, though he kept quiet. He'll look into this later. Then, the woman he recognized as Miss Brittany Chance approached him. He remembered his many 'interviews' with him, remembering how she had tried, (in vein) to convince him that meta-humans weren't his enemies. He was still unconvinced.

"Right this way," she said, as another of the teachers escorted the hacker elsewhere. Duffle bag in hand, Valentine followed her into the building. He could tell she was only escorting him to keep an eye on him. She knew very well how he felt. The two then came to a door numbered "7"

"This will be your room," Miss Chance explained to him, "Feel free to get settled in. If you need anything, just speak with me or any of the staff. We'll be glad to help.

Yes. I'm sure you would.

As Miss Chance left, Valentine opened the door and stepped in. He didn't need to get settled in. What he needed was to get a better look at his surroundings. He threw his duffle bag onto a bed and was about to leave when...

"So, they gave me a roommate this year huh?"

Valentine turned to see someone leaning against the wall by the window. He looked normal, but something about this young man immediately made Valentine wary of him, especially that confident smirk on his face. Valentine had a feeling he would be a big problem for him in the future.

The teen chuckled. "Not a talker are ya? The name's Aiden. Nice to meet ya." Valentine could tell this Aiden wasn't the most friendly of individuals.

"Valentine," he replied bluntly, turning back to the door and opening it.

"What? Not gonna stick around? Come on, I thought we should get to know each other, since we'll be roomies and all."

Speaking to this particular person was the last thing Valentine wanted right now. "Not interested.

And with that, he closed the door. Valentine walked quietly down the hall. First, he was going to map out the ace. Then, he was going to collect some info on this "Aiden". Something told him he would be a big trouble maker in the future.

[Mew Master]

TPM Comics Presents
Marvel: Singularity
The Brilliant TRACER
Issue 1: School Daze
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Date and Time: 10:46 AM, Wednesday, August 17th 2011
Location: Isu Academy, Main hall, Boy's wing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tracer struggled with his luggage, what little of it there was, up the stairs to where he was instructed his room was. As he entered the building, he heard the sound of an electric guitar as someone was bouncing like a rock-star, on one foot. Her hair was bright yellow, with a metallic sheen, and almost reached the floor. She slid down the banister of the stair-way, running a guitar riff that almost screeched in Tracer's ears. It also seemed to catch someone else off guard, a girl who was drawing, with headphones on, listening to her own music before the guitar riffing girl hit a note that screeched through the air, taking the artist by surprise, making her jump.

What happened was a worst case scenario as the guitar player suddenly triped, despite her apparent coordination, rolling into a nearly buzz-saw like spin, and slammed into the wall, her guitar broken and hanging together by a couple of strings.

“Whoa... did anyone get the number of that banana?” she said, head spinning.

The artist seemed distracted and almost flustered at what happened. Looking at the girl and getting worried.

“Sorry... are... you okay?”

The other girl stood up, holding her broken guitar. “Yeah, just another clonk to the ole noggin' there Sue. Didn't see ya drawing there or else I woulda toned it down from eleven.”

Some more students came in, and Tracer heard footsteps on the landing above him. Looking he saw Valentine, the boy he had ridden with on the way here, walking down the hallway at the top of the stairs. The silent type who seemed to be taking everything in like a soldier in alien territory. Looking at everything for a weakness. It was odd, Tracer didn't know much about him, but even his attitude was off.

Some other of the students had come in. Two girls, one with short, but bright pink hair and a necklace, and the other with her was significantly younger. Someone, a young man came running from a corridor.

“I heard a crash and.. AHH! Sonia!” The young man stopped dead in his tracks and seemed to be a bit skittish, staring as he was at the girl with the bright yellow hair.

“Oh relax Rick,” Sonia, the metallic blonde replied. “Don't pop a blood vessel and knock out my powers again.”

Rick, seemed flustered. “Wha? No no! It wasn't that at all!”

“Oh come on Rick,” Sonia leaned in on the young man. “Don't tell me you're nervous around me.”

It wasn't helping Rick's position that he was starting to get even more flustered and skittish.

“Oh back off the kid Sonia,” said someone else. An older teen from the top of the stairs, walking down them past Tracer. The young man was wearing sunglasses and had short, yet wild, cut hair, wearing a long coat. “Can't tease him like that before he hits puberty or else his heart will explode.”

“Oh come off it Aiden, just because you're a prick doesn't everyone is.” Sonia rebutted, crossing her arms and tapping her foot amazingly fast.

“Whatever, just saying.” He said walking by the other arrivals. Aiden seemed to lower his glasses at the girl in pink hair and the younger girl as he walked by. Tracer thought he saw Aiden's eyes as inverse colors. “Rory,” he said as he walked by, acknowledging the pink haired girl.

The air seemed a bit tense as the other students seemed to watch Aiden walk by, like a group of people in the forest watching a mountain lion walk by.

There was a loud clap and everyone's attention turned to Tina Tourmaline, the headmistress of this school, followed by Director Eldridge. Another young man was standing next to her, he was dressed in semi-formal wear and seemed to possibly be the oldest student here.

“Well,” Tina started. “It seems mostly everyone is here, save for a few late arrivals I was informed about a few moments ago, I suggest we begin the introductions. Welcome to the Isu Academy. You have been gathered here because you each posses certain gifts, gifts that cause the rest of humanity to fear you. At this academy we will help you learn to control your gifts, and use them for the betterment of the world. You are not prisoners here, you are students.”

“Should you refuse this academy's offer,” Eldridge interrupted. “You will be detained and transported off the premises and to a secure facility for rehabilitation.”

Tina looked annoyed at the interruption. “Ahem, yes, there is that option. However I'm confident none of you want that. A full explanation of this academy and the campus grounds will be made at your orientation later today. All new students are required to attend, previous students are encouraged to appear For now, get yourselves settled in and introduce yourselves to your new classmates.”

With that, Tina and Eldridge went off down a hallway, already in a heated discussion about the main campus' safety protocols.

The air was tense again, as the students seemed to stand there, not acknowledging anyone. They started to group up, in some cases, of senior students with other senior students, and the new students standing by themselves.

Tracer couldn't really stand it. “Call me Tracer,” he said, barley a whisper at first.

“Eh? Say something small fry?” Aiden snarked from his place across the foyer.

“I said, 'call me Tracer.' If we're supposed to introduce ourselves, that's the way to start.”

“Look kiddo,” Sonia added. “Love the guts and gusto, but you don't get your code-name just yet. What about your real name?”

“I... I don't want to say.” Tracer thought back to his family and how they treated his intellect. “Hey! Just because I'm a kid means I'm stupid okay?!”

“Easy there Tracer,” the older teen who came in with Tina and Eldridge stated. “No one's judging you on your age. I'm Walter Hitchens.”

And with that, the ice was broken. Just hoping bones wouldn't be next.