Open Black Moon Academy - School for the Gifted

A man and a woman sat in a dark office, the woman’s back to the balcony behind her. She had only to turn around to have a lovely view of the ballroom. The man was far too tall for his chair, his legs stretching off to the side to avoid hitting her desk with his knees. He had short, well-kept dark hair and small round glasses. “If I may say, Madam, Byron’s idealism cannot hold up forever. It’s already risky enough to bring in some of these kids and teach them the normal way. Experimenting could prove fatal to the Academy.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Like the biohazard kid. I know I’m not the only one to tell you he’s dangerous. Or the leech. And then there’s the psychological state of some of them to consider. The parasite girl, Eris.”

“Cole. I’ll tell you the same thing I told the others. These students are Byron’s last hope. I trust him, and I know you don’t always get along with him, but you should trust him. The one thing he isn’t is stupid.”

There was a pause.

“Let’s go, Professor. The students are probably out there waiting on us. Make sure Byron’s ready.” The woman ordered.

“Of course, Madam.”


Three hours, so far. Three hours of just sitting here, watching the grandfather clock go back and forth.

Nick’s parents had insisted on driving him to the Academy. So they packed into a ratty old car, and two days of almost non-stop driving later, they were at the cast iron gates of Black Moon. His parents wanted to stay for the official welcome, but Nick pointed out that the brochure told them explicitly to be alone, without any family. Back into the car they went, leaving him with just a duffle bag and a wad of cash in his pocket.

There was a long path between the gate and the front door. About 150 meters, if he had to guess. The whole way was lined with flowers, stones, trees, and even an odd little pond or two. Walking into the front door revealed the inside to be just as impressive. White marble, with sharply contrasting blacks lining most everything. Bright red curtains, silver chandeliers, delicate stonework and sturdy architecture. Directly opposite the front door was a small, ordinary wooden door with a chain across it. On either side, marble staircases arced up to a second floor, where two great elaborate doors stood, staring down at him. Hallways shot off in nearly all directions, and Nick realized that he’d be living here.

I hope the food is good, for all this posturing… He thought. He didn’t see anybody except a crusty old janitor, mopping the floor.

“Hey there, fella.” The janitor smiled at him. “Name’s Larry. Yer a student now, huh?”

“Uh… Yeah.” Nick wondered where everyone else was, and if he was supposed to be talking to this old guy, or if he should be somewhere else entirely.

“Well,” Larry dunked his mop into his bucket. “Yer about three hours early.”

Nick froze. “… Did you say three hours?”

“Yessir.” Larry nodded with a smile. “Oh, yer gonna’ love it here. Black Moon’s a fine school, one of the finest.” He blew his nose on a handkerchief. “Yessir, just take a seat in that chair right there, have yourself a nap.”

For the next three hours, Larry whistled or hummed, or just worked silently. He kept cleaning the room, even when he had cleaned it twice over. And Nick sat in the chair offered to him, next to the door, unable to simply go to sleep. It’s been three hours. Isn’t anyone else gonna’ show up? For all he knew, he was the only one here. Aside from Larry. And that would be a terrible thought indeed.

((Go my children.))

One overnight train ride later, James Levin finally arrived at Black Moon Academy. Not once had he ever considered going anywhere with 'academy' in its name, yet somehow he was at this place because he was apparently 'supernatural.' However, he knew that was complete bullshit. He was placed in this school because he was a freak, and apparently the freaks all go to the same school so that the normal people wouldn't have to deal with them.

Stepping through Black Moon's gates, the place seemed far more ornate than he had imagined. Carrying no more than an airport suitcase and a laptop bag, he walked the rather long path towards the school itself. A little too long, he thought. Especially if he was carrying a heavier suitcase.

The inside of the building was just as fancy as the outside, and at this point James started to feel out of place. The floor seemed just about spotless, and yet for some reason there was still a janitor mopping it over again. Regardless, he dropped his bags on the floor next to another teen (who must have been a student) and slumped back against the wall.

"Well, Master Nestor. You've been accepted in Black Moon! How exciting is that?" said Jeeves. A fain smile appeared on Nestor's lips. "That's fantastic. We should pack. Y'know, it says here we should be arriving today" Nestor replied.

"What shall I pack, sir?"

"Don't worry. I can handle it myself"

Nestor slowly put his garments in a duffel bag. He couldn't believe he'd be going to a boarding school. The thought of having to share with the people he studied with sent chills down his spine. As he slowly made his way to the front door, the staff each hugged him and said their goodbyes. "Shall we leave for the Academy, sir Nestor?" asked Jeeves. "Yes. Let's" Nestor said.


The McLane family Porsche slowly pulled up to Black Moon. The building was beautiful. Carefully-tended greenery gave a very nice ambiance to the place. "This is good bye, Master Nestor. Please, take this as a token of my appreciation" Jeeves said, close to tears. It was a picture of them, along with Mr. Cat. Nestor's eyes welled up with tears when he saw that picture. "Thank you, Jeeves. And please, just call me Nestor" he replied, as the faithful butler wiped his eyes and entered the car. As Jeeves left, Nestor entered the front door. Grand staircases, beautiful chandeliers, and a very diligent janitor. Looks like Gramma's place, thought Nestor. He then noticed a very bored guy, not that much older looking than him, slumped in a chair. Nestor sighed, grabbed his bag even tighter and sat next to the dude. "So," said Nestor, "How's it going?"

A whole estate, with a cast iron gate and everything. Serena smiled to herself. She gave a light wave goodbye to her parents as they drove off. Half-skipping, and half-running, she made her way to the front doors. She’d never been anywhere so fancy. “Neat… Should I knock or… Let myself in?” She asked herself. With a shrug, she pushed open the door, and gave a low whistle as she observed the splendor inside. She got a friendly “hello” from the janitor inside, and other than that saw only three boys, all slumped up in chairs against the wall.

What a bunch of potatoes. You’d think they’d be excited to be here.

“Hi! I’m Serena!” She beamed. “So, you’re students, too? Or are you, like, really young teachers? Or butlers or something? I’ve never had one, but if I did, I’d call him Sir Dapper the Classy.” She figured she might be talking too much. All three of these boys looked in a poor mood for conversing. “Well, in any case, it’s nice to meet you.” She sat on one of her suitcases and rolled over on the opposite side of the boys.

She wondered how much like her they were. If they were even stranger. They all looked pretty normal, though one of them had a lot of layers on for a day like this. “I’m excited to be here.” She told them. “I think it’s really going to be good for us.”

((I WANT IT LONGER, but I dunno how. ;-;))

Aimee watched the ornate gates start to rise as they got closer to the academy. She fingered her sleeves nervously, not sure what to expect but smiling at her mom just the same. Her mom was risking a lot to be here and drop her off, once her father found out, who knows what would happen. She told her everything would be fine... but she had to wonder if her mom was just convincing herself of that.

As she pulled up to the gate, she noticed another person already walking down the trail, and it didn't look like a girl. I guess I couldn't hope for an all girl's school... she says before getting out of the car, grabbing the bookbag with her clothes in it and small bag with other supplies. Aimee watched her mom drive away, waving and smiling before she disappeared. Looking back to the gates she took a deep breath and entered, starting the long walk down.

She looked at all the fancy decorations, smiling as she passed and seeming to be in better spirits now. There was a slight skip in her step as she walked up to the main building, not seeing the other guy anywhere and taking a deep breath, opening the door and seeing three people. Not just any people, three guys. There was also a girl there, but she seemed to be busy with them. She stared at them for a moment before moving from the doorway and sitting as far away as possible from them, holding stuff close and glancing over to them every so often.

~Reneé

Reneé was glued to his games as his father's black hearse stopped at the gates to the academy. His father looked over to his Reneé, and tapped him on the back of the head with an edge of disappointment.

"Ren, how many times do I have to tell you not to play those things on a trip. You missed the wonderful scenery on the way up you goof." His father said with a hint of bemusement. He knew that Reneé had seen it all out of the corner of his eye, as Reneé had learned to multi-task what he was looking at.

"I love you too dad." Reneé replied earnestly, giving his father one last hug before emerging from the car. Reneé had stuffed his 3DS into his pocket and had retrieved his bag from the empty rear cabin of the hearse. "But did you have to take the hearse? Like I get it, it's a school for supernatural teens and young adults, but I seriously doubt anyone's going to be impressed by someone arriving in a hearse..."

Reneé's father chuckled as he helped pull out Reneé's Expandable Upright* and wheeled it over to him. "Hey, I've got to go straight to work any-ways."

"Sure dad, whatever..." Reneé replied with a grin. "I'll call home before bed, right?" Reneé's father replied with a grin and a nod.

"Well see you, uh, the next time I do!" Reneé shouted as his father got back in the car, waving as he revved the engine and left.


Reneé struggled to position his stuff in a comfortable manner, but finally got it with his backpack centred and hooked onto the Expandable Upright, and the whole system being pulled behind him with both arms. Reneé entered the main doors to see a large entrance hall, something similar to those he had read in novels. A janitor greeted him and gestured towards the area where five other students had already gathered. Reneé made quick observations of his fellow classmates. Three males and two females had arrived thus far, and they all seemed, normal, to say the least. At least more normal than he had been expecting. Sure, one was slightly over-dressed, but then again Reneé looked rather formal in contrast to the rest of them.

Reneé found a chair of his own off to the side, a small distance from the rest. At this time he had little interest in interacting, he'd likely be doing that for the rest of the semester, for now he was going to enjoy his games.

Well, this place was certainly something.

It was fancier, Eris decided, than any place she had been to before, which was just a little intimidating. Her parents had left already, and she didn't feel that guilty about cutting the tearful departure short by making them a bit more uneasy than usual. Okay, well, maybe a little, but she would have felt more uncomfortable with them telling her how much they'd miss her. How could they miss someone who freaked them out all the time? Well sure, suddenly standing in front of the Academy and realizing how huge it was, and how old and rich it seemed, and with the epiphany that she was going to be living here sinking in, she had to admit she was a little unnerved.

That was funny, actually. Her, Eris Fallton, put off her stride just because of a fancy school. She was invited, after all. This was her kind of place, full of people with their own interesting abilities. Surely there'd be so many that would be just fascinating to hang out with. Squaring her shoulders, she took one last long look at the Academy. This would be hers. Her school, her territory - and pretty soon, even if they didn't know it just yet, they'd all get to know her very well. This place was one where she could use her powers freely - in fact, they'd probably make her do that, figure out how to use them better. She wouldn't have to worry about holding back any longer.

This was going to be great.

With that in mind, she stalked through the gate and along the neatly kept path, shrugging off any further nerves. Passing through the front door, Eris stopped as she caught sight of several other students already there. Grinning, she sauntered forward, letting her power seep out around her naturally. Whatever their powers, they would probably still feel more than a little fear. She wanted to see it, see how they would react.

"And here I hoped I was going to get here first... oh well. Who are all of you?" she drawled. Most of them were kind of in a cluster, and one girl had put as much distance between her and them as possible. Interesting. Maybe she'd go after her first, try to figure out what she could do... but why rush?

At least she was only going to be late. Not late yet. To be sure, she definitely wasn't going to make it on time at this rate; at best, maybe just about on time, but she couldn't be sure about the landing. ... she could probably make it faster if covered the last stretch by parachute.

Maybe I should have listened. Her parents had offered to take Monday off and drive her right up to the gates. But she'd insisted on the dirigible, on accout of first impressions; and also because she'd been preparing it for weeks and hadn't been inclined to have that go to waste. I probably should have counted it as a sunk cost.

The great black gates of Black Moon Academy were just now coming into view. She was flying at 600 feet or thereabouts, which matched her expectation of a bit more than half an hour more. Which left a bit more than half an hour more to ... think about why this had been, in retrospect, an absolutely terrible idea, and why had she become so enamored with the idea in the first place, why hadn't she just gone along.

The mass of her luggage really had really strained her ability to keep the dirigible up magically (she'd come to think of this supernatural thing as magical, because the more she though about it, the less sense it made); it wasn't such a problem now in the air, but really, she probably should have realised before she'd gotten up in the air.

Black Moon Academy drew closer, and the idea of parachuting down the last stretch became increasingly appealing. Of course, her luggage would have to go somewhere; even if she just left it in the air, it would have to go down eventually, and just hoping it would fall in a reasonable place seemed hopelessly irresponsible.

Well, there was quite a bit of space between the gates and the front door. Her luggage probably wouldn't be damaged that badly if it came crashing down. She probably actually could crash-land the dirigble there after she landed herself safely. She had just shy of ten more minutes, continuing at this speed wasn't going to get her there on time, and she really couldn't safely make the dirigible go any faster.

She realised after she jumped that, even with the parachute, even with magic, that had been a really stupid idea. First, because now that she was lower, she could clearly see cars in the distance which she figured definitely couldn't have made it on time, either. Second, because in the moment when she'd be busy setting her own course, she'd lost control of the dirigible and something had gone wrong and now it was falling, probably to right in front of the gates and of all the ways it could land was it really going to hit someone's car as it pulled up?

As she neared the ground, Priscilla yelled, "Would anyone here be of use at stopping my dirigible's fall?" There didn't seem to be anyone actually outside, though, and she doubted anyone inside could hear, but on the off chance that someone might have magical hearing...

So much for first impressions.

(Actually, now that she thought about it, what kind of first impression had she been expecting to make with a dirigible in the first place? That had been a really stupid idea, why had she insisted on it?)

In something of a fit of cowardice, Priscilla decided that her best course of action would be to enter the Academy now and maybe deal with the consequences of having accidentally dropped her airship on someone's car. Maybe.

Priam slowly, deliberately took a sip from the flask normally hanging from his waste - inside it was a liquid that had been given to him mere hours ago by the man currently driving this car, with instructions that each morning, he was to report to the school's health office and have the flask refilled. It was easy to see why - the drink, from what he had been told, contained substances of "questionable legality." To anyone else, the drink - a combination of blood and substances that Priam preferred to not know about - would taste like some foul substance from the most dank of sewers. To Priam, however, it tasted like a nectar of the gods, after all, this kept him alive while keeping others alive as well.

Aside from sipping from the flask and reading through the book he was carrying, Priam had done nothing at all during this car ride. He'd only occasionally peeked up from the book to look at the driver, who hadn't even bothered to try and make casual conversation with Priam during the ride. Given that this car was one of the academy's cars, doubtless that those of the academy had alerted the driver ahead of time to the kind of person that Priam was.

Good. It made things so much easier for Priam when he didn't have to answer pointless questions; questions asked by people that he'd never see again after their paths separated.

Of course, given that he likely wouldn't go separate ways with those at this academy for a number of years, Priam would have to adjust his behavior during his time here. Adjust it rather... slightly. No point in getting close to someone, after all, when a slight touch from Priam would result in their painful death.

It was after Priam had finished the chapter of the book he was immersed him that he peeked up from the book again. This time, he saw the dark iron gates of the famed Academy, with the building itself looming a ways away. Sighing, he closed the book and put it back in his bag, clipping the flask back to his waist immediately afterwards.

Soon afterwards, the vehicle screeched to a halt in front of the gates, just as a hearse was pulling away. Gathering his bags and murmuring a terse "thanks" to the driver, Priam drew up his hood and strode through the gates.

A somewhat lengthier walk brought Priam from the front gates to the academy's large double-doors. Seems that somebody wants to make an impression on the newcomers, Priam thought, cracking the doors just enough to allow him to enter the threshold.

The moment he crossed said threshold, he was not surprised - but none too pleased - to see that he was hardly the first person to arrive in the entrance hall. He counted at least six others, all looking completely different from one another. Unsurprising, he thought, looking for a place to settle down, if everyone in a school like this was similar, the purpose would be lost. That being said, they all had one thing in common: none of them looked like they'd be someone Priam would want to get to know.

Then again, I could've thought as much without even looking at any of them. Allowing himself a small smile at this thought, Priam settled down and returned to his book.

Raisa understood why she hadn't heard of this school. The huge cast iron gates were pretty ominous, well, the grounds had seemed nice enough.

And that's what she thought the first time they had passed them. The Greyhaven guards, dressed in their black, grey, and orange uniforms, had insisted on 'scoping it out'. What was there to scope out? It was a school, not hostile territory.

She laughed to herself, then again...

The black limo pulled over in a slow stop in front of the gates. Her door was opened for her by one of the guards, a friendly face that had been sitting up front with the driver. Unlike his fellows he was dressed in a black suit, the Greyhaven logo pinned on his tie. He smiled at her. "You ready for this kiddo?"

She returned the smile. "I think so," she said, stepping out of the limo, "but are you sure you don't want to drive past it again just to be sure?"

He chuckled. "I think we're sure."

He moved to take her large duffle bag from the driver and slung it over his shoulders. "Marks, take the others," he ordered one of the other guards, who rushed to pick up the other bags. "Pressley stay with the limo."

When Marks reached down to pick up the purple and black laptop bag she stopped him. "Nope, I'll be carrying that."

The path was long, but she was right, the grounds were beautiful. She was a little nervous, a school full of 'special' students... who knows what made them special to start with. Could they shoot laser beams from their eyes or read her thoughts?

"Nervous?" Marshal said beside her.

She shrugged. "Maybe a bit." She paused. "It was good to see you again Marshal, been a long time."

"Seven years," he said wistfully. "And I remember you were much smaller back then, cuter too, if I remember right? And wasn't your hair brown?"

Raisa smiled. "If I remember right, wasn't your hair all black? Or is that a new style?"‘

“I-" he paused completely.

Raisa looked at him. "What?"

"I could have sworn I heard someone yelling." He shook his head. "Hearing things, I suppose.

She smirked, and he returned it. Marshal was a good man, at least in her book. He was one of her favorite guardians as a kid. She could honestly say she missed him when he had been reassigned, but he had his own family to worry about and she knew he had wanted to live closer to them.

Soon they were at the front doors. She raised her brow as she heard Marshal let out a low whistle beside her. "Big place," he said with a grunt.

"Bet it's a dump inside."

He laughed as she opened the door.

Was she ever wrong. The place was amazing, marble and silver, and... She could get to like this place.

Yep, she was late alright. Seven others stood there already. A group of silent kids, most somewhat near her age. Most were in a group together, but some were farther from the others.

"Looks like they're waiting on some more students still," Marshal said beside her. "Would you like me to wait here with you, Miss Winters?"

He's gone into professional mode, she thought with a sigh. "I think I'll make it."

He nodded, placing her bag beside her, he turned toward the door. Pausing to lean toward her ear. "Be safe Raisa," he whispered.

And the door shut behind him, she swore she heard his muffled voice from the other side barking on his radio. "Slow down, what the hell do you see in the sky?.... a what?"

This was going to be an interesting school, she could already tell.

Was that an ambulance?

From a distance, it certainly looked very similar to one. Pulling up into the driveway alongside the likes of limousines and porsches. A large white van with a very clear marking visible on the side for all to see. No, it wasn't a red cross. It was the standard recognizable symbol for biohazard - danger of death.

Not exactly an encouraging sight.

The back of the van had no windows. Inside, it was just a white room. There were no windows to the outside. Just a raised bench to sit on with a seatbelt, a bag packed full of school supplies, and one boy sitting there in silence. Well, admittedly, not quite silence. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his breathing came out in quick, gasping breaths.

Kssssssssh... Kooooooooh... Kssssssssh...

He'd checked his filter levels. They were clean. He'd checked them again, and again, probably a hundred times. The mask he was wearing was a new one - and so was the suit. Both were sealed and free of leaks. Locked away in the back of the transport vehicle in isolation with no view of the outside world, he had no idea when he would reach the Academy. It had been that way for hours. When he felt the engine switch off; his hopes soared. He'd waited this long, he could wait a little longer to hear the sounds of the two drivers' boots hitting the gravel. Their footsteps betraying them as they walked around to the back of the van, took out the keys, and held out their hands for the palm-print scan...

The doors opened wide. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the light, a hand that was clutching a framed copy of his letter of invitation. Standing up, he inched forward, peering out at what he could see of the Academy. He saw students. That made him hesitate, but only for a moment. He stepped out into the world, and the doors closed behind him. Both the men who'd driven him here looked at him through the blank features of their own gas masks, nodded, and then wordlessly returned to the driver's seats.

After the van pulled away, he knew that he was now alone in a whole new world.

Grey gloved fingers tightened their grip on his bag of meager belongings in one hand, and the invitation letter in the other. His boots crunched with every step. Approaching the other students with methodical slowness, his hidden eyes peering out at them through a gaze tinted yellow by the lenses set into his mask.

Kssssssssh... Kooooooooh... Kssssssssh... Kooooooooh... Kssssssssh...

An even collection of boys and girls were there so far. None of them seemed as outwardly different as he was, although there was that one girl with the tattoos... his gaze lingered on her for a moment, and then pulled away quickly, out of some general feeling of unease. There was another boy standing at a distance from the rest, while the remainder seemed to be gathering into small groups. Through his claustrophobic tunnel vision, he took in their appearances, regarding them all with the same appraising eye. These were the new friends he'd been promised. He couldn't afford to pick and choose, and as such, chose one at random. It was the girl with the tattoos.

As he made a beeline in her direction, he felt a growing sense of dread beyond mere apprehension. This wasn't just anxiety about meeting somebody new, or even accidentally killing them... it ran a lot deeper than that. Stopping about two meters away, looking her in the face, his masked visage tilted to the left.

"You... are creepy." Rasped one abomination to the other. "How do you do it so well?"

Katie did a quick mental sweep of the empty expanse of road around her as she steered with her knee, tiptapping out a brief nondescript text message to her twin sister. Kelly was doing her best to stay interested in Katie's life, but Katie could tell that her passion for knowledge was something that escaped Kelly entirely. The sentiment, however, was appreciated; Katie put her phone down and returned to her steering wheel just in time to catch view of the large archway and cast-iron gates (cast-iron gates? Really?) marking the entrance to the Black Moon Academy. Not finding any clues as to where to park, she opted to leave her car

She admired the architecture from a physical perspective, and from a geological perspective, and from a botanical perspective, but from an aesthetic perspective--they certainly had a penchant for the dramatic, didn't they? Large, imposing, black-and-white (cast-iron gates, really), it was sort of...offputting, from the outside. She supposed it would have to be, considering all of the ambiguity and extranaturalism that occurred within the Academy itself, and all of the undoubtedly shady happenings within those occurrences. The grounds were a pleasant walk, if a bit chillingly quiet; the flowers were quite varied and abundant (arranged impressively in a best-fit compromise between optimal growth and optimal color flow, interestingly) and the ponds were surprisingly clear and calm. She wondered if the inside would feel more inviting than, well, haunted, though she supposed she couldn't rule that out at a supernatural center of study (even then, she sometimes wondered if she herself could be considered a ghost).

The faintest whispers of mental activity reached her ears (figuratively speaking of course, they reached her own mental activity) as she stepped up to the front door and opened it. She caught the word dirigible and paused for a second, then shook her head and let herself inside.

The inside was as impressive as the out, minus the incoherent chained-off wooden door staring her right in the face across the entryway. She followed the mental murmurs, taking note of people's names while trying to block out any other information (it helped her connect with people if she didn't already know everything about them before they spoke at all); soon she came to a door, behind which she knew sat a bunch of people who would never truly understand her, but who she would almost certainly understand within a week, tops. That was okay, though, they wouldn't hate her, or ostracize her. She'd just be that quiet girl who read a lot and didn't talk much, and it'd be her own choice, because--

A flash of panic cut through her thoughts, and a voice (louder mentally than aurally) shouted "Would anyone here be of use at stopping my dirigible's fall?" Katie rubbed her forehead instinctually, trying to search the source-mind for the actual problem--who arrived to school in a dirigible after all--and as the source-mind drew closer, the situation at [their] hand grew horrifyingly apparent.

No FUCKING way--

Katie ran as fast as she could (which wasn't remarkably fast) back out the front door just to see a foreign, flying (FALLING) object soar majestically, horrifically, steeply down over the cast-iron gate directly to where Katie had just walked from and of all the ways it could possibly fall was it really going to hit her car--


Five minutes later (because when you thought that much about a problem that fast, there wasn't much point sticking around), Katie stood outside the same door, probing for names quickly before entering, her face stern, but not fuming.

"Sorry I'm late," she said to the people gathered there, "I was going to ask where I should park my car, but thankfully, the dirigible seems to have taken care of that for me."

Shortly after Priam had entered the building and opened his book, the doors opened for another student. It was unlikely that this event on its own would have roused Priam's attentions from this book, but the student's entrance was accompanied by a drawn-out hissing, rattling noise. That noise had repeated itself several times over, and that had piqued Priam's curiosity enough for him to lower his book and learn what the source of that noise was.

The source of the noise, as it turned out, was the student itself. This student was dressed from head to toe in bright yellow... armor, and a thick mask was covering the student's face. There was no way to glean what the student looked like... not even a way to tell if it was a boy or a girl.

Two simple possibilities, Priam thought, either this one is so susceptible to diseases that this suit is the only way to go in public without getting sick... or it's the other way around. Made for our protection rather than his. Someone with powers more dangerous to others than even mine...

Interesting.

Priam's instincts, honed by years on the streets, were naturally telling him to avoid this student just as he intended to avoid all the others, but if that suit was indeed made for the protection of everyone else... this student could very well be a kindred spirit.

For now, Priam decided, the task at hand would simply be waiting. Waiting, watching, and learning more about this student. He could be wrong about why they had the suit, after all. And if he was, he'd be making an interaction that would surely backfire on him later down the line. So indeed, all he would do for now is observe. Doing so was nothing that he wasn't already used to.

Gundam had realized he was going to be late. This was not a concern.

No, of course not. His preparations were much more important--he had to have someone to take care of his other animals, and continue his research while he was gone. That was not to say his preparations were last minute; they were just... extensive. And sadly, the packing had taken much longer than expected; his suitcase was incredibly, improbably large, but he still wasn't able to take all that he'd hoped for. As such, he'd prioritized his hamsters; he gave himself only a small corner of space, and the rest was full of all sorts of hamster supplies.

Admittedly, not all of it was necessary. The collapsible rocking chair? Excessive, even. But he intended to set up his room as close as possible to his own bedroom and keep his hamsters comfortable. So, when the cab he took stopped close to the academy's gates, Gundam realized that his overstuffed suitcase would have trouble both fitting through the small door and being carried to his room... but with a push, it was forced out of the vehicle and onto the ground. Gundam knew from packing that carrying his bag for long distances would not be a walk in the park; while he wasn't pathetically weak, he wasn't a weight-lifter, either. Luckily enough, all he had to do was whisper to Maga-G, and he grew to become an elephant... the size of a donkey, of course. Gundam needed to be able to reach him. With a heave, he lifted up his suitcase and deposited it on Maga-G's back. He could carry it easy enough.

The visual of that was suspect, however, and hiding it was a habit now. But, calling for Jum-P, it suddenly looked like he was carrying own bag, simple as that. Hopefully no one bumped into him, though.

In any case, all he had to do now was pass through the gates and make the walk into the building. The building which he thought suited him nicely; the spectacular gates, the carvings and designs on the front... the place looked ancient, in the beautifully elaborate way that castles were. And the path to the front doors, too! The ponds and trees must hold some wildlife, he thought. In fact, he could swear he just saw a squirrel race up a tree...

The front doors were huge, ornately carved and in some sort of extravagant wood that he didn't think to identify. All the better for him; if he opened the doors wide, there would be more room for Maga-G to pass by. So he did; and coming in, he saw the same greatly impressive interior that you'd see in some sort of fictitious mansion. There were also other students, unfortunately... walking over to an empty section of wall to wait, he took his load off of Maga-G and allowed him to transform back to normal. At some point the illusion faded, the fake suitcase disappearing and almost instantaneously being replaced by the real one, but it wasn't something he could see; still, Maga-G's elephant form was hidden from others the entire time. The only thing visible was Gundam picking up a cute, furry little hamster from the ground, and letting him rest comfortably in his palm.

The hills rushed by. It had become a familiar sight. For every family road trip (and there had been several), Thomas would lose himself in the sight of the green blur of trees and grass rushing by him. It had almost a hypnotic effect, allowing him to separate himself from the pressures of life. Now it soothed him, as it had ever since the accident. It distracted him from the train wreck that his life had become. Dropping out of school, giving up on his dreams? That was perhaps the one thing he regretted most. He had tried, but in the end ultimately failed to fix what had happened.

Failure, especially on this scale, was new. He mentally made a note that it was mostly unpleasant and while it did eventually seem to pan out and become slightly worthwhile, it took quite a while. It would probably be best to try and avoid it for the future.

The acceptance letter to the academy had come a few weeks ago. Until that point his parents had decided school was not an option. Thomas' special problem hadn't escalated to the point it had in the hospital room for a while now. At least not as far as his parents knew. His room in the basement had allowed him to experiment quite a bit. All it took was a few moments thought on how ruined everything had become, how he had lost any chance of doing something in life that actually mattered...

Thomas took a deep breath. He needed to calm down. This was going to be a new start. He would recreate the same life he had back at home, however long it took, and reinstate the plan. It was just another life, and if video games had taught him anything, it was that a new life was a chance to find things that you missed.

"Of course, if there was an online guide to life, I wouldn't need to worry about starting over..." he thought. But he knew there wasn't.

He had grown bored of staring out the window. Instead, he took out his trusty iPod, and played a familiar melody, something by Rachmaninov, Prelude in G Minor. In his hand he held a few small marbles. He let the music flow through him and concentrated. As he had practiced, the marbles began to revolve around an invisible point slightly above his hand, a miniature solar system, sans a sun. He had become quite an expert at creating minuscule fields. Anything larger than a radius of the car he was sitting in proved to be exhausting, but these small-scale ones were both easy and entertaining. When coupling it with piano music, it calmed him a lot more than he was able to convey with words.

A short while later Thomas arrived at the academy. It was a walled in estate, with a grandiose gate looming in the front entrance. His parents stopped the car and gave the usual goodbyes. Thomas grabbed his suitcase, school material in a laptop backpack, and his telescope case. It was a long, tube-shaped case that held one of the few comforts he was able to bring from home. There was no way he would have been able to transport the family piano, and even if he had been able to, the looks he would have received would have been far too much. The telescope and been his parents' way of saying goodbye and showing some care. He would set it up in his room, so long as there was an available window.

Thomas walked up to the gate, which had opened when he arrived. The campus was very nice and green, as one would expect a boarding school to be. The front doors were incredibly large and ornate, made of some sort of dark and heavy wood. The school's name was likely inscribed somewhere above them, almost certainly in Latin or some other dead language, but Thomas didn't take the time to look. Instead he opened the doors and found himself in a main hall that was as stately as the front facade had implied. He could see a group of students, and quite a large one compared to the 2 or 3 he had initially thought he would see. There was thankfully an empty chair to the right of the room. It was far enough from the majority of them that he would likely not be prompted towards social interaction, but close enough that he wouldn't become a pariah, either. It was perfect. He set his stuff down and then inserted his headphones, the universal symbol for "please don't talk to me." He took a mental note as the sweeping sounds of a piano solo in a Muse song panned through his ears. There were several people, and the group seemed to be evenly gender-split. There were a few that stood out from the rest. Mainly the girl with several winding tattoos that were quite eye-catching. Or perhaps the... person in the gas mask and body suit. Some seemed nervous, others, excited. A couple were bored. And the girl in the tattoos.... Thomas felt uneasy simply by staring at her. As for the gas-masked person, he really couldn't tell how they felt. The whole collection was starting to make Thomas quite apprehensive. But this was all just the first step.

He sighed and concentrated on the music pounding through his head instead.

Aimee watched as the room slowly filled, an even amount of boys and girls being in the room now. That would work in her favour, they could all possibly be paired with people of the same gender. This thought loosened her up a bit, though she was still uneasy.

Out of all the guys that had appeared, the most terrifying one to her was the one in a gas mask and rubber suit. There was a hissing noise coming from his mask and he already seemed dangerous. Aimee needed to stay as far away as possible from him or she may just have a panic attack or breakdown. Calm down, Aimee... they couldn't possibly put me with him... he's already in a suit and dangerous, so they wouldn't put him with someone normal like me... When in reality, she wasn't any more normal than the others surrounding her.

She searched the crowd of extremely different individuals, ones with brightly coloured hair and winding tattoos. She sighed, they would probably all have more amazing powers than hers, and know how to control then pretty well. They did seen to come from a lot of rich families with how they already walked in. Aimee looked down at the ground and gasped softly as she saw the hamster being picked up. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "It's so cute!" before covering mouth and noticing she probably shouldn't have said that, considering they were a guy.

The second person to arrive after Priscilla (who was slightly trying, albeit not very hard, not to be noticed) stood in front of the door momentarily, then turned around and left in quite the rush. Priscilla thought this somewhat strange, but said nothing, partly because there wasn’t anything to say but mostly because she felt that this was probably the one whose car her dirigible would have fallen on. Rather, would fall on, since it didn’t seem to have landed yet.

A dull thud came from outside. A few of the others standing there in the entrance hall seem to react to that – but then, none of them seemed to have heard her first call for help, they might not yet have realized what the source of the noise had been.

Only a few minutes later, the woman who had walked out returned, looking … not so much angry, so much as slightly disappointed, with an apology for lateness and was that snark about the car and the dirigible?

When this newly-arrived woman turned in her general direction, Priscilla broke eye contact by hiding her face behind the brick she’d been carrying – Brown-LeMay-Bursten, 7th edition, 1997 – when she’d, uh, jumped ship. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she figured it would be quickly obvious whose dirigible it had been in any case, and might be best to get over the apologies now so she walked over and began, "I, mm, about your car, um, sorry about the—"

At that moment, her apology was interrupted another arrival and someone crying out "It’s so cute!" and she turned in distraction and oh my gosh it’s so cute

Oh God no.

There was a constant flow of people coming in. People! Nestor gulped at the thought. Beads of sweat started to dot his forehead. He clutched his bag and retreated into a corner, and sat down. Among the frightening crowd, there was a girl with elaborate, although a tad frightening, tattoos. And then there was the kid covered head to toe in a hazmat suit. That one nearly made him soil his pants. The rest, though, didn't seem that weird. In fact, they resembled a crowd of kids he'd find at his school.

After a while, Nestor heard a shrill shriek about something being absolutely adorable, and raising his sight to the origin of the sound, indeed it was. It was a small hamster. Feeling rather bored, he willed the hamster (not much, he didn't want the hamster to turn into a pile of exploded fur) to come towards him. He petted the hamster, and the faintest smile appeared on his lips as he toyed with the pet. He saw the stares of his classmates concentrated on him. He shuffled a little bit in his spot. "Who does this fwuzzy bwuzzy belong to?" he said, surprised at himself.

"... Maga-G? Cute?"

Of course, this was an expectable reaction to those who didn't know the fierce might of the Four Dark Gods of Destruction. However, Gundam was still frozen temporarily, which was just long enough to see Maga-G jump off his palm and determinedly run over to be petted by some boy with a clip-on tie. Gundam reddened. This was not something that Maga would usually do. He was well-trained, like all his animals, and even so not extremely friendly. In fact, he was quite quick to anger, and on the ride to the Academy had broke into a fight with Cham-P; quickly quieted, of course, but still.

"Who does this fwuzzy bwuzzy belong to?"

Gundam strided over to the boy and held out his hand. He was not angry, but protective nevertheless, and embarrassed over Maga-G's unexpected escape. "It is I to whom he belongs. Gundam Tanaka, the owner and caretaker of the Four Dark Gods of Destruction, as well as the Most Fearsome Evil of the Century... he is no fuzzy bwuzzy. The Steel Red Elephant, Maga-G... that is his name, and he is quite a fierce one. He is not one for forgiveness, but he seems to have taken a fancy to you, mortal. Even so, do not anger him."

No longer waiting, he turned around, and saw that he seemed to have made a scene... even worse. It was unavoidable, however. Nearly all humans were inexorably smitten with the Gods when they first saw them, at least temporarily. So he faced the crowd and spoke:

"When faced with such a malevolent force as the Dark Gods, some become too overwhelmed to process their true faces, and judge simply by outward appearances... it is truly a facade that only the worthy may see through. As such, it's understandable that some of you may falter in the face of their power. However, even with your folly, if any of you wish I may outstretch my compassion... it seems Maga-G has offered his to the childlike one. The Grey Fox and the Silver Falcon and the Black Dragon, they may all appear before your unworthy eyes, and graciously offer mercy upon your palms and soul..."

At this, the other three hamsters poked their heads out of his scarf, and scurried out onto his outstretched arms, which were positioned to give them a place to stand.

Quite the group, she realized as more students filed in.

Raisa tried not to laugh at the kid with the apparently very deadly hamsters. "Ha," she said with a badly covered snort, "'Four Dark Gods of Destruction'? At least I don't have to worry about being the weird one here. And here I thought gas mask boy over there was the strangest one here. But I think your doom inducing rodents win that round." She glanced at gas mask kid. "Sorry about that. There's always next time."

She glanced at the hamster. "What happens if I put it in a hamster ball? Does it become a rolling force of doom or something?" she said with a laugh. Then quietly added, "... I sorta want to try that now."