“You mentioned strange things have been happening to you.” Anders turns around again. “And that you can 'see' where certain people are in your head, right?”

“Yeah, sort of?” The girl folds her arms.

“Well, to put it simply,” Michael chimes in, “The people you can see have bitchin' superpowers like Anders does, and I've been told Camille here is no slouch herself.”

“But I can't see either of them.” Caroline responds.

“Wait, what?” You look at the girl; in your mind, you can visualize the fact that two Originals are sitting right next to you, with a few more dotting the town around you, and more further still. “That can't be right.”

“I know what you mean about seeing people.” Caroline says. “There are plenty of them out there, but none close by at all.”

“That's strange...” Michael says. “Maybe her shit works differently?”

“Well, isn't that what we're going to figure out?” Anders says. You look up, and note the car coming to a stop in the shadow of a washed-out building. “What I was getting at was, this place will be a perfect testing ground for us to practice, and learn about our abilities.”

[2/3]

“This way, ladies and gentlemen.” Michael hops out of the car, making a quick circle to open the rear doors for you and Caroline. You make your way around the building and through the disabled automatic doors in the front, noting unused construction vehicles gathering dust in a line a distance away from the entrance. You remember visiting this place, years before it shut down; the doors led into a tiled entryway with racks of bestsellers and magazines, but as of now, all of that's long-gone.

The four of you enter in a pack, noting the layout of the place. The light fixtures have been dismantled, but a few skylights and windows offer decent illumination, and you can't see in from the outside too well without being right next to the building. The wood floor is worn, but the store itself is wide open; only a few bookcases and counters remain, as well as the cafe tables, which are affixed to the floor.

“So, what kind of practice do you have in mind?” You ask.

“I was still thinking.” Anders responds.

“Let's see, how to start this off?” Michael asks. You're aware that Anders is the Original of Force, and he may know Caroline's Origin as well. You don't know hers, and only you know your own. “You guys want to show off what you can do, maybe?”

What will you do?

>>26625920
I'm not so sure we should be showing off just yet.

"Are you the Original of Seduction or something, Caroline?"

Depending on how much we want to give away, we could either do the coin trick, or we could tell them something about themselves, or we could go full retard and let them know our full origin and see something impossibly far away or something.

>>26626060
Forgot to add, I'm leaning towards the coin trick. It gives enough away that they may just assume we're Reflex or something, do the won't just assume we're lying or hiding out origin because we don't trust them( even though that's totally the case. )

I'd like to perceive what type of person Caroline is before we reveal anything about ourselves. Seeing her abilities might sway us to lie.

I'd go with the coin trick. Just make sure we can get all three, don't want to lose face in front of our new superpowered compadres.

>>26626043
I would think the Original of Seduction would be better at seduction. It's probably something to do with the people she sees in her head.

“So, Caroline? Are you the Original of Seduction, or something?” You ask, prompting laughter from Anders and Michael.

“What? No!” Caroline folds her arms, red-faced. “What, do you think I'm seductive or something?”

“Hey, mind saving it for the bedroom?” Michael says. “Also, if you want to hit me up with a time and place on that, I will totally—”

“Alright, alright.” Anders interjects with a grin. “I'm glad we're off to a great start.”

You consider revealing your own capabilities, but decide first to have a look at Caroline, in case seeing what she's capable of influences your decision to do so. What you've seen thus far tells you she's pretty insecure, about her appearance in particular. After seeing her last night, it amuses you to imagine she's currently experiencing some sort of vast internal conflict; that said, you don't have a terribly good conception of how people that aren't yourself choose to have fun.

You remember, you used Perception to try to look into the minds of Anne's soccer-playing friends, Brittany and Elissa. It didn't work too well, and you almost fell over—that said, maybe you've gotten a little better since then?

What will you do?
>Invoke Perception to assess Caroline's personality or Origin (1d20)
>Do the coin trick
>Ask someone else to start the show first
>Other

>>26626321

[x]Do the coin trick. It's a pretty innocuous thing, and if we're gonna build up some trust here we may as well put ourselves out there a little.

Rolled 8

>>26626321

"I only meant you seemed pretty smooth at the party. Being the center of attention and all."

Rolled 14

>>26626321
Don't try to read her mind, that seems like a big step and I'd rather not get a splitting headache right now.

But read as much of her body language as possible, look for any microexpressions she shows as those are a very good sign of someone being deceptive or hiding something. See if she is glancing towards the exits as if she wants to be able to leave whenever. Is her posture relaxed, defensive, aggressive? Take a look at her outfit, ascertain what condition it is in, especially the shoes, the quality and repair of someone's shoes is often a good way to tell how wealthy they are, if someone is wearing a nice suit and meh shoes they're not as classy as they are trying to look, if someone is wearing battered clothes but high quality shoes they're dressing down or are well off but dress for comfort.

Do the coin trick, it doesn't reveal too much of what we can do and it'll break the ice.

“I only meant you seemed pretty smooth at the party.” You nod. “You were the center of attention, after all.”

“Oh, yeah. That was nothing.” Caroline smiles. “This apartment party in university square lastweek was even wilder than that. You should have seen me there.”

Her perception of herself seems a bit skewed. You think you can scratch Seduction off the list of possible Origins.

You briefly call upon your Origin, to help see what you can see—not to read her mind, but to gather all you can from her appearance.

>14

Caroline appears reasonably relaxed. She glances at the exit from time to time, but between that and her slouched posture you think she mostly might be a bit bored—she's probably tired, and you imagine someone as skinny as she is might still be hung over. No one here is particularly dressed up, but you note the designer logo on her loose-fitting T-shirt, suggesting it probably cost an inordinate amount. She's wearing a pair of black flats, that look well kept, or recently cleaned.

“Camille, you alright?” Anders asks.

“Yeah, what?”

“Nothin', I guess. It looked like you zoned out for a second there.”

“Right.” You respond, pulling a few coins out of your pocket and resting them on the back of your hand. “Anyway, if no one's gonna start us off, I suppose I will.”

“Ah, yes.” Anders says. “You know, I never figured out exactly what your power does. That doesn't seem fair.”

“One thing at a time, now. Pay close attention.” You toss the coins into the air, paying close attention to them as they spread out. You invoke your Origin—their fall slows, their trajectories growing more predictable, and you take a brief moment to glance at your friends, watching intently.

[1/2]

You reach out and grab the first from the air, swiping the second from the side immediately after. The third grows closer to the ground, and begins to speed up—you allow tension to build, then move your hand into place and allow it to fall in line, showing a hand of three coins to the room.

Anders and Caroline applaud a bit, smiling.

“Woah, that was cool!” Caroline says. “Does she have super reflexes, or something?”

“No clue.” Anders says. “But I know she's capable of more than that.”

“What was that?” Michael asks. “Anyone can do that.”

“You try it, then.” You place your hands on your hips.

“Uh, no thanks.” He responds. “Alright, I guess we're doing this a little at a time. Camille, since you stepped up to the plate, you get to decide who goes next.”

What will you do?

>>26626917
I'd say the other lady next. Dont want to have force boy scaring her away before we find out what her origin is. On the other hand she might be a bit more willing to show if he goes first and she isn't immediately terrified.

>>26626975

Agreed. Let's see what she's got.

>>26626917

"Well, I've already seen that you're a bit 'pushy', so let's give Caroline a shot."

>>26626917
"Caroline, why don't you go next?

Don't worry too much about what to do, just the first cool trick you think of."

She seems the type to try to impress others and show off, so we should be able to gather a decent bit about what she can do. Focus on how she reacts to being put on the spot and then don't only pay attention to what she does, but how she does it.

“Well, I've already seen that Anders can be a bit pushy.” You glance over at him, grinning, and he rolls his eyes. “So, let's see what Caroline can do. That alright, Caroline? Don't worry about it too much. Just do the first cool trick you can think of.”

“Alright, well. This one is easy.” Caroline opens her eyes, and you watch as their brown color washes away, turning to a bright blue. A reticulated spiderweb of orange begins to grow from the center of her irises, its threads expanding until they are completely eclipsed by orange.

“You bitch!” Anders shouts. “You told me those were contacts!”

“Uh, yeah.” Michael groans. “That's pretty and all, but I think Camille's got you beat.”

“Oh, quiet.” Caroline frowns. “I can do some other stuff, but I get all hungry and sweaty and it hurts my head.”

“Yeah, that happened to me too. Still does, if I try to push it too far. It gets better the more you practice, though.” You nod. “That's why we're here, right?”

“Correct!” Michael claps, and throws his hands into the air. “So let's see some shit! Camille, what are we gonna do next?”

What will you do?

>>26627340

"Is the eye thing just color, or does it change how you see?"

Only fair for Anders to show Caroline his juju. After that we find out if Caroline can color things other than her eyes.

>>26627340

If she has some identity or self-image concerns, then maybe her Origin is something to do with changing her image. Maybe she can change more than her eyes.

We should give Anders a chance next.

Looks like she's something to do with Appearance, maybe. As for what to do, I can't really think of anything other than maybe doing matrix shit with Anders. Maybe give them tips? See if we can help them practice? Also gives us a chance to watch them, see if we can perceive something interesting when they use their origin. Could give us some insight into how Origins work. Actually thinking about it, we should definitely do this. It would let us 1) find out what origin someone is before they use it, maybe 2) help them grow stronger because we can see what they're doing and figure out how to do it better and 3) gives insight into what the fuck is going on as a whole.

>>26627536
By this I mean focus VERY carefully on what's going on while they're using their origin, try to find a common link, maybe. Also, incoming massive headache

>>26627340
Hmm, I wonder what the point of making her eyes a different color is. Given her odd self-image she can probably change things about herself, alter how she looks, how people see her, maybe able to make herself stronger, faster, yadda yadda, not sure. Not enough data.

Take a closer look at Micheal, gauge him, see what his body language is saying about the stuff he's seeing. Try to get his measure, pretty much like we did with Caroline a bit ago.

"Right now Michael, practice a bit, show off, try to get a better grasp of how our powers work and what we can do with them. It's pretty mysterious to all of us, and none of us are even approaching the limits of what we can do with our Origin.

Caroline, does that just change your eye color or does it change what you see? It's still rather pretty though.

Anders, you seem to have the most dramatic power set so why don't you show off a bit."

After Anders shows off we can ask Michael some questions. Ask him how he got involved in this, how much he knows, if he knows others with these powers. That sort of thing. Focus on him and keep our eyes open for any signs of deception or hiding things from us, like guarded posture or microexpressions.

File: 1376526926207.gif-(1004 KB, 500x200, superman_jump.gif)

1004 KB GIF

>>26627340
Ask Anders if he can do the superman jump.

I wonder... if someone had the Origin of "Hiding" or "Safety", something like that. Would they be undetectable even to the dot tracking Perception affords us?

>>26627765
Not necessarily the best idea. Just because he can get some extra height on a jump doesn't mean he'd be able to land properly from it. Doing a big jump using force seems like a good way to break your legs. We're inside so he'd smack into a ceiling anyways, he might fuck up the floor, just seems like all around a iffy idea.

>>26627793
I imagine that we would be the only one ABLE to find him. We probably wouldnt get any of our swag bonuses to finding him, though. From the sounds of it, the precise dots are exclusive to us, the others just get a "feeling" around other originals. We would probably be downgraded to the feeling around him, and everyone else would have no clue he was one.

“First of all, Caroline. Is the eye thing just color, or does it change how you see?” You ask.

“It's just cosmetic.” Caroline responds. “Pretty cool, isn't it?”

“Yeah.” You nod. “Alright, Anders. I already know what you can do, and I bet your friend does too. So, have at it. Oh, and try not to scare Caroline away.”

“Camille. We're all adults here.” Anders says, taking a couple steps toward one of the nearby bookcases. “I would never do something to s—HEEEYAAWWAAATTAHHHYYAAA!”

He stops, stomping heavily in front of one of the bookcases, and thrusts one hand forward. There's the sound of an explosion, accompanied by air rushing past you, as he generates a powerful wave of force that rushes across the distance between him and the bookcase. Like before, you note that you can follow exactly where the wave is—only now does the idea that it might be invisible to others, including Anders, dawn on you.

The shockwave meets its target, with its energy rushing out in all directions. You can see large splinters of wood go flying off the old shelves, then the bookcase rocks back and tips over, landing with a tremendous slam.

“YEAAAAAH!” Michael jumps into the air, cheering. “That's my shit! You see that?”

“Better than you'd think, actually.” You roll your eyes. “Caroline, what do you think?”

“...Fuck.” She stares, wide-eyed. “That's amazing. How powerful is he?”

“I actually haven't practiced much. It's hard to find the time and place to actually test an ability like this, especially on a large scale.” Anders sweeps his hands against each other. “Camille's power is probably a bit stronger than mine. I don't even think it tires her out.”

“I dunno, Anders. That was even more powerful than you put out before.” You fold your arms. “Hey, can you jump really high like Superman in that movie?”

“Huh. Never tried.” He responds.

[1/?]

“Personally, I think we're all pretty bitchin'.” Michael says.

“Hey, Michael. You know a lot about Origins, right? How'd you get involved in all of this?” You ask.

“Origins?”

“Superpowers. They're called Origins, and their wielders Originals.”

“Oh, right. My, uh... contact... told me about it.” He stutters a bit, then continues, unusually straight-faced. “One of his customers is this cracked-out chick who works downtown, and she's apparently got crazy powers out the ass, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, this bitch is apparently in contact with a couple of Originals, right, and she set up this private, like, internet site for them to keep track of the growth of their powers. Anyway, she apparently told my guy about it, and he made her some kind of deal or another to get an invitation to the site, even though he's not an Original or anything. And I've got the password and such, so I can dig around and see what they're all talking about.”

[2/3]

“You didn't tell me about any of this.” Anders says. “Sounds shady as all hell.”

“Yeah, well. Anyway, I started looking at what these guys can do, and how this chick is inviting them to meet up at this swanky place downtown. So, when I found out Anders was one of 'em, I fucking flipped a shit! I was talking to him about like, finding our own place to do this kind of stuff, so we could see how godlike he could get. And then, yesterday afternoon, he called me up and told me about how you kicked his ass, and I'm like, alright, we've gotta find a place to do this like now.”

“So... you wanted to see your own, like, superpower team, basically?” Caroline asks.

“Yeah, it's pretty much like a TV show or something.” Michael grins.

His story has a bothersome vibe, but you can' place it—he sounds like he's telling most of the truth, at least.

“So, now what?” Anders asks.

“How about we push it a bit?” Michael says. “You and Camille can do some full-on Matrix shit. Or maybe Caroline can show me what other body parts she can color.”

“Oy.” You nod. “Don't make me slap you.”

“I'm kidding. Christ.” Michael shrugs. “I'm just saying, we're all opening up. But we've gotta go big or go home, right? What do you say, Cam?”

>>26628231

Ask Anders if he can even control how strong the blasts are. We don't want to get injured if his power has been increasing, even if we think we could dodge the waves.

What else could we do to exhibit our ability in a way that others would understand?

We could read closed books, right? We might be able to play up a mind-control premonition angle with these guys if we don't wanna reveal our Word by having them write down a word and then 'guessing' it by reading it through their hands.

>>26628326

“Anders, can you even control how strong your force-blasts are?” You ask.

“Oh, uh. Sort of.” He says. “That's kind of what I've been working on. You know, not going all-out. It's kind of hard, though, but I've been getting it a little bit.”

“But it is important, young Padawan, to cultivate control before power.” Michael speaks softly—he clasps his hands and bows, eyes closed, in a presumably-ironic gesture.

What will you do?

I wonder if we can see the future, or at least the past. Its probably years down the road but still something to think of. Also we should probably try watching either Anders or Caroline WHILE they use their powers. See what their body is doing, if we can.

>>26628509
I'm curious about Caroline's power, can she shape-shift or change other people? I would guess her word is Appearance.
Also I'm waiting for the opportunity to say: We don't need Caroline's power to give you a black eye Michael

>>26628509

Let's see if we can't train our Perception by watching how the force blasts form out of Ander's palms. It'll be good training (watching invisible shit) and it'll help us prepare in case we ever have to drop Anders.

Maybe have Michael try to hit us and see how long we can just barely dodge his attacks.

>>26628509

"Uhm, yes, I think you should try to learn moderation before we do any 'Matrix shit'. Michael, maybe you can be the practice dummy."

"Caroline, do your thing and I'll tell you something about it."

Activate Perception when/if Caroline uses her Origin.

>>26628660
May be giving a bit too much away there. Maybe something like "hey, mind showing me your power again?". Then we can tell her stuff about it maybe.

>>26628710

That may be better, you're right.

>>26628509
"Despite Michael's mangling of Yoda he does have a point. One thing I've noticed about your power Anders is that while your blasts are strong they lose out on strength pretty quickly as they go further, they spread out a lot, it's not very efficient. If you got some more control you'd be able to accomplish the same thing with a lot less effort, instead of a big shockwave that spreads out a lot a focused line would be more effective.

On that note why don't you try picking something up in your hand and pushing it towards a target.

I do have a step up in the whole control thing, most of what I do is rather subtle and internal, not very good at showing off. It does wear me out if I overdo it, but not as much as smacking bookcases around. But since you want to see something big, Micheal, try and punch me."

This won't reveal anything really new about our powers, Micheal already knows about us beating up Anders, but we can get some show value by dodging the punch, pulling him off balance, and tripping him, gently.

After that we should take a closer look at Caroline's powers, ask her to do stuff, we'll observe her and get whatever information we can from that.

We should be careful about making "dodging" our focus, considering we don't really have enhanced muscular reflexes.

“I think I can help.” You nod. “Anders, Michael has a point, despite his... mangling of Yoda.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, most of what I do is subtle and internal. It wears me out, if I overdo it, but not as much as smacking bookcases around. Michael, if you're so confident, how about you try and punch me?”

“You're serious?” Michael says. “I don't want to hurt you, or anything.”

“Hey, I don't need Caroline's powers to give you a black eye.” At this point, your mind reacts faster than your body could hope to, but a person is much slower and easier to avoid than a shockwave. “Come at me.”

“Alright, well. I used to play football, so, uh, don't be mad!” Michael breaks into a run, and comes at you in a position you'd expect him to tackle from. As he draws close, he brings his arm back and swings a fist at your head; you simply lean to the side, then turn and trip him with your foot, sending him rolling across the wood floor, and eliciting laughs from the crowd.

“Hey, hey! Do-over. I wasn't trying.” Michael groans, pushing himself off the floor.

“My point is that I've sort of got a good handle on control. One thing I've noticed about your power, Anders, is that though your blasts are strong, you lack control. They spread out, and lose a lot of energy, and sometimes they're so big they completely eclipse the target, which wastes energy.” You think back to when the two of you fought. “Remember earlier? Your blasts would probably have that one bench to pieces at point-blank range, but by the time they crossed the courtyard, they could barely push it a few feet. You should try a focused line instead of a big blast—it'll be tough, but I think you can do it. On that note, maybe you should try shooting objects from your hand, instead of just making waves.”

[1/2]

“Huh.” Anders folds his arms. “That makes sense, I guess. I haven't gotten a feeling of exactly how much space my Origin shockwaves cover, so it's kind of hard to make them do what I want.”

You nod, then look over at Caroline. She's been kind of quiet. “Caroline, you mind showing me your Origin again?”

“If you want.” She says, reluctantly, and you invoke your Origin as she calls upon her own. This time, the whites of her eyes fill with a solid crimson, then all at once, they become black in whole, prompting a frightened noise from Michael. You push your Perception deeper, and your head throbs as you attempt to mentally approach the use of her ability from different angles, until you stumble upon a brief moment where you can feel her using her Origin as you'd call upon your own.

It was already clear that Caroline is the weakest of the group—at least, those that even have powers—but you can see her wincing, her face beginning to turn red. For some reason, she's straining, holding herself back, and you can tell she doesn't take pride in her Origin in the least.

What will you do?

(( I'll be running out for dinner here in a bit but will try to get another update in beforehand. Sorry about my general slowness. ))

>>26628850
Actually we do. We just don't have the stamina to keep up with it.

>>26629137

"You've seen that Anders lacks control, but that doesn't mean you should limit yourself. Why your eyes, Caroline?"

>>26629137
Keep on observing Caroline, watching her body language, processing what she's doing, we may have a headache by the end of things but I'm curious.

"Hmm. This is curious, curious indeed.

There are two things I want you to keep in mind Caroline. First, from what I've seen someone's Origin is tied to the core of who someone is. It has held true for all the Originals I've met and for myself, and while I don't have a large sample size I have utter confidence in this. Second, no Origin has only one application. With a bit of creativity and practice you can cover a wide spectrum of things with your Origin.

Why are you only changing the color of your eyes?

How about you try changing something different? Try to change something, don't restrict yourself to purely cosmetic changes. I believe in you."

>>26629286

Why would we have enhanced muscles and not enhanced stamina? I don't think we have either, we can just use our existing (fairly weak) body to follow through on our amazing mental reflexes and processing.

>>26629137
Try to comfort her somehow? I'm not rally good with words. I'm better at thinking, but we need a way to bring her out of her shell. Maybe tell her she can stop, maybe talk with her a bit, get closer to her, let her open up. (my god im a sociopath. ) maybe we get some food? What time is it? Eating gives time to just talk and relax, and we can let social manipulation take hold.

>>26629368
Reflexes, not muscles. Right now our conscious reflexes or whatever go faster than our unconscious "oh god I'm touching something hot better drop it" reflexes.

“This is curious.” You say, still focusing. She's invoking her Origin, but spending far more energy on just changing her eyes than she'd need to, like unnecessarily straining herself. She wears a frown, and her reluctance thus far makes you think she's disappointed in or by her own power. You decide to stop using your own ability, to avoid the risk of hurting yourself.

“There's two things I want you to keep in mind, Caroline. First, from what I've seen someone's Origin is tied to the core of who someone is. It has held true for all the Originals I've met and for myself, and while I don't have a large sample size I have utter confidence in this.” You place a hand on her shoulder as her eyes settle into a hazel color. “Second, no Origin has only one application. With a bit of creativity and practice you can cover a wide spectrum of things with your Origin. So why not try changing something other than your eyes? Try to change something, and don't restrict yourself to purely cosmetic changes. I believe in you.”

Her lips tremble, and she gives you a look of wonder. “Something wrong?”

“You're right.” She nods, sitting down in one of the cafe chairs. “But what does it matter? Everyone's so superficial... all my life, I've only cared about the way I look. I think I'm so weak because I can only use this power to make myself look better. To change my eyes, or to grow my hair. And whenever I use it, I feel like it's haunting me. It hurts my head, and it makes me want to die.”

[1/2]

>>26629452

Okay, let me be more specific then. Our Kinesthetic reflexes are enhanced, which means that we have a much quicker sense of our body movement. The way I see it is that our brain perceives the Kinesthetic positioning and motion of external and internal factors with enough swiftness and precision to utilize our otherwise normal bookish college girl body for feats that appear to others to be reflex or agility. It's like we're letting the world move around us, not that we're better at moving through the world.

“But you said you can do more, didn't you?” Anders asks.

“I'll show you the first thing that happened, when I learned.” Almost out of breath, Caroline lifts a trembling hand in front of her face, and you watch closely as the skin of her wrist breaks. A smooth, curved bone, ending in a blunted, tooth-like point, emerges from the wound—an extension of her radius, perhaps—accompanied by the wet, bloated sound of the tissue beneath moving. It stops several inches past her fingertips; you can see a vein protruding in her forehead, and she leans forward and rocks back and forth, looking for a moment as if she's about to vomit. “I can heal the wound, as well. It's my whole body, that I can change.”

“Holy shit.” Michael says. “Sorry, Anders. We've got us a new winner.”

What will you do?

>>26629738
"That is totally awesome Caroline! That's beautiful. The possibilities of that, they boggle the mind.

Are you feeling okay? Do you need to sit down?"

>>26629738

"So you're not just changing your appearance, you can change the structure of your body. That's amazing! And it's not like the X-man guy either, I mean, you're able to part your skin on command. You can make modifications without pain. Well, except for the head pain, but that's going to happen regardless. Wow"

>>26629724
That's a way better way of putting it. Thank you.

>>26630003

Thank you.

>>26629922
Might want to add that that is in no way weak or superficial. (she was complaining about being superficial, right?) what does that say about her? She's in no way superficial, she's capable of changing core parts of her self, of becoming stronger, of growing.

>>26630088

Good idea.

>>26630088
That is very much a good thing to add.

You still around, OP?

>>26631216
Back shortly, will update when I am. Depending on who's still around, I'll either continue or call it and archive.

>>26631533
I'll be on all night and I'll actually be home from work in an hourish so I can actually post more.

>>26631533
Awesome! I'll be here for as long as you go most likely.

Me too.

>>26631533

I'm in for the long haul OP.

“Caroline... that's beautiful. The possibilities boggle the mind! I mean, you're not just changing your appearance, you can modify the structure of your body! And not like that guy from the X-Men, either! You can part your skin on command, and make modifications without pain.” You stare, intrigued.

“It does hurt,” she says, “But it's... better because I'm in control of it.”

“Slow it down, there.” Anders says, approaching the girl for a closer look. “You look like you're about to drop dead.”

“Your Origin is in no way weak, or superficial.” You continue, watching the new bone retreat back beneath Caroline's skin. Fleshy threads inch across the gap, stitching the wound back together, and leaving no evidence it was there. Provided she can eventually manage to harness this ability with no strain, she'll be a force to be reckoned with. “With it, you're able to change core parts of yourself. You can grow, and become stronger. Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She responds, then coughs, trembling. “I'll be better in a little while.”

“Aww. You guys are the best, you know that?” Michael wraps his arms around himself, pivoting back and forth, speaking a mile a minute. “Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I can't wait to see how far you guys can take it—come on, let's see Anders put some stuff through that wall, or something! What's next? Anyone hungry?”

What will you do?

>>26632215

Hot damn. We need to stay on that girl's good side, no doubt. Let's let Caroline rest and practice a bit more with Anders, then head out and grab a bite to eat together.

Also, resist the urge to suplex Mike.

>>26632215

We should have some food and ask Mike about his mysterious contact while using our Perception. We don't want some shady private power club roping us in to anything.

>>26632215
"Caroline, why don't you sit down and rest for a bit.

Anders, I would like to see if you can focus your ability a bit, try using it to push rocks or pebble that you're holding in your hand.

You're going to be paying Michael. Just a heads up. But let's get a bit more done before we get food. Could you tell me more about this 'contact' of yours? I like knowing who is involved in this."

Obviously focus on Michael while he's talking about his contact, read as much of his body language as possible, watch for microexpressions, see what topics he avoids.

“Caroline, you should rest for a bit.” She nods and makes an affirmative noise, then slumps back into one of the cafe chairs. “Anders, I would like to see if you can focus your ability, like using it to push rocks or some of the debris in here.”

“I'll give it a shot.” Anders says. “Let me find something good, real quick.”

“And Michael, you're paying. Just a heads-up.” The notion elicits a groan from him. “Before we get food, though, can you tell me a little bit more about this 'contact' of yours? I like knowing who's involved in this.”

“Uh, right, well.” Michael sounds a bit nervous, and he clasps his hands behind his head. “Supplier might be a better word than contact, actually. I'm like his business partner, actually. We often sell completely legal goods to humble, esteemed individuals.”

“Right.” You roll your eyes. “Don't worry, I believe you.”

“Trust me, that's not important to anything we've got going here. I'm not much of a risk-taker, and I'm definitely not a gangster or anything. I just happen to make a few dollars here and there, and I happen to know a lot of interesting people. Comes with the, uh, territory.” Michael shrugs. “What's with that look? I'll gladly buy lunch for all of us if you're done grillin' me.”

What will you do?

>>26632791

"Almost. Just answer me this. What's your stake in this? Are you just here to scope out the show, or are you jotting this down to report to someone later? 'Cause if you're really on the level, I want access to that site."

Engage maximum perception modo when he answers. Gotta make sure we're not getting puppeted around here, after all.

I don't trust him one bit, personally. He's hiding something, and either he's lying to us or he's an idiot, and both are potentially dangerous when you have a person leaving "pulpy remains" running around.

>>26632917

I agree with this.

>>26632917
This looks solid.

Also after that ask him if he's heard anything about the pulpy bodies, he probably doesn't know anything more than we do, but we may as well check.

“Almost. Just answer me this. What's your stake in all this? Are you just along for the show, or are you reporting this to someone later?” You call upon Perception again, paying close attention. “Because if you're really on the level, I want access to that site.”

“Can't do that last thing, I'm afraid. I can show you what they're up to, but I doubt I could get you in. Their, uh, queen bee is in completely in charge of invitations, and my account is actually read-only. They've got a pretty air-tight networking operation going on, too.” He places a hand on his chin, musing. “I know where she's posted up right now, actually, and it's pretty damn secure. I have no clue how she managed it. There'd be no way to get to her, barring tracking down another site user, or maybe playing off her little vice. Though, as powerful as she claims to be, I don't think exploitation is our best choice.”

“I can tell you, though, that I've no intention of hurting any of you. Hell, Anders is my best friend, and we know damn well all of this Original stuff needs to stay on the DL.” You watch, as his tone and face grow earnest. He doesn't seem any more legitimate, but he is right—anything he did to you would also be an action against Anders. “Trust me, I'm good at keeping shit quiet.”

[1/2]

“Have you heard about the murders, recently? Something about 'pulpy bodies'?” You ask.

“I... ugh... heard that in the news the other day.” Caroline raises her hand. “It's awful... he got a f-fourth one, didn't he?”

“I was accused of that by Camille the other day.” Anders rolls his eyes.

“Ah, yes. Another reason why you especially should care about honing your skills.” Michael nods. “That community was talking about it a little bit too. There's no confirmation as of yet, but a lot of people are thinking he's a killer that only hunts female Originals. They're thinking he has an Origin power of his own. Someone who can pull all that shit off and not leave a trail or any sort of evidence or solid suspects has to, and it's probably a damn good one.”

What will you do?

"Alright. Good enough for me."

Gonna have to back off of him for a while if we don't want him to go on the defensive now. Keep an eye on him, though, he's shady as all fuck.

Let's practice with Anders a bit like we planned previously, then grab some lunch together. Keep an eye on Carol, make sure she's doing alright.

>>26633267

"Caroline and I are prime targets for this super-killer and not even the super-club knows who he- or she- is. Not to mention the murders are getting closer to where we are, right? Great."

>>26633267
"Well that's just fucking great. But I suppose that's part of life.

Keep your eyes open, and if you feel another Original approaching it'd be a good idea to get to a public place and call the rest of us.

On that note we should probably all share phone numbers so we can contact each other."

Get a bit more training in, observe stuff, let Anders play around with pushing stuff away from him, using Force to throw stuff very fast into targets, let Caroline rest and make small talk with her. Take it easy for a bit.

Then go get some food on Michael's bill.

>>26633407
Sounds like we're either going to need to get strong fast or find a way to keep ourselves hidden. My votes on getting strong because we kind of have a big radar pinging on us all the time.

>>26633610

Makes me wonder if we could potentially use Perception to filter ourselves out of other Originals' perceptions / radars. It's a good goal to work toward, and fulfills both training ourselves and hiding ourselves.

At the least, we seem to have greater detecting of other Originals than other Originals have of us. May already prove easier to avoid someone we don't trust.

“So, Caroline and I are prime targets for this super-killer and not even the super-club knows who he or she is. Not to mention the murders are getting a little bit closer to home.” You sigh. “Just great.”

“Hey, it'll be alright.” Anders says. “We've got each others' backs. Maybe those other guys just didn't know the importance of teamwork, right? Just keep your eyes open, and if you pick up on another Original approaching, call for help and go somewhere public. We'll share phone numbers, so we can always be on hand.”

“That sounds like a plan.” You won't let your guard down, but somehow you feel it's best to keep it out of your mind for the moment. A quick look at Caroline, who looks dead-tired, but is breathing alright. “Caroline looks like she's out of commission, so let's you and I get a little bit more done before lunch. How about we try that thing I mentioned?”

“Right. I found a couple pieces of concrete.” Anders hefts a fist-sized hunk of crumbling debris. “Will this do?”

“Sure, just watch where you're shooting.” You respond. “Focusing your force-blasts into a cohesive line might pose a bit of difficulty, but just blasting objects around will achieve the same effect. Hopefully, it'll help you work your way up to that, and maybe expand your repertoire of abilities. Let's see what you've got.”

With the rock resting on his outstretched palm, you watch him focus for a moment before an explosive blast of force erupts in all directions, launching it a few feet towards the opposite wall and sending you stumbling backwards. It collides with the ground and breaks apart, kicking up dust and separating into tiny chunks that roll away.

“Practice makes perfect, I guess.” You shake your head.

[1/2]

“Aren't you majoring in Engineering?” Michael sighs. “Your power is Force, right? Why don't you just try, like, throwing the shit and making it go faster.”

“Fuck, I'm doing my best over here.” Anders scoops up another chunk of concrete, tossing it up and down for a few seconds with his eyes closed. “Whatever, we'll try it your way, since you're so good at this.”

“What are you doing?” Michael asks.

“Seriously, come on! I've gotta get a feel for it first.” Anders pauses briefly and allows the rock to rest in his grip, then shouts as he throws it towards the wall. You watch carefully; it travels on a normal projectile path for a fraction of a second, before rocketing forward with massively increased force, colliding with the opposite wall and breaking to pieces.

“Whoo!” Anders cracks his knuckles, then takes a deep breath, placing a hand to his forehead. “That's what I'm talking about!”

“There you go! That's what I'm talking about! C'mon, fight through the pain.” Michael cheers.

“Mm. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it works.” You watch confidently, still thinking about the alleged super-killer. You'll have to get a lot stronger fast if you want to contend with him—or find a way to hide yourself. Even now, you can feel the outer limits of your ability expanding, and a thought comes to you, as you recall the initial moment of trying to look into the minds of Anne and Brittany; if Anders can alter the force of other objects, perhaps you can disguise yourself from the perception of other people? “Anders, you need to break for lunch?”

“Sort of.” He exhales. “I can try a couple more if you want.”

>>26633925
"Nicely done. It would hurt a lot to be in the way of one of those. With practice you could probably negate or at least severely reducing the force of stuff coming towards you. Doing it precisely will probably take a while though.

Steady reliable practice seems to be the best way to go, pushing yourself to your limits every time will just give you massive headaches. If you're getting tired let's take a break.

I'm hungry so lunch sounds goods to me. Thai food?"

>>26633947

This sounds solid to me.

“Eh, don't worry about it. Steady, reliable practice is the way to go.” You nod. It's not as obvious as Anders and Caroline, but you're almost on empty too when it comes to Origin use. “Going to your limit every time will just end up giving you a bad headache. If you're tired, I think we'll break for lunch.”

“Sounds good!” Michael says, helping Caroline to her feet. “I'll drive.”

“And pay.” You interject.

Michael frowns. “Yeah.”

(( About to go shower, but I think it's time to archive and call thread. I'll keep it open for some questions, if there are any--also, expect the character pastebin to be updated. Thanks for participation and all. ))

>>26634087

Good deal. Thanks for the thread, J. See you next time.

>>26633925

I think since we're not immediately in danger and we're not dipping our noses into the affairs of the super-club just yet, we should eat and talk a bit. Then, we should practice increasing our field of vision, and perhaps feeling out our other senses.

Speaking of which, were Camille's other senses enhanced in the same manner as her vision? Like, could she hear an object whistling through the air and dodge it? Or even a change in air flow or temperature on her skin to perceive immediate danger or something? Might be worth looking into.

>>26634315

(( Camille recently brought it to mind that Perception is more than just sight, but, having focused mostly on the visual, hasn't noticed/explored the capacity/improvement of her other senses. It stands to reason, however, that those things are possible. ))

>>26634087
You got like a twitter or something we can follow? I'm liking this thread a lot.

>>26634471

(( Not as of now, but I'll have to consider that or a mailing list, provided I can maintain any sort of following.

I'm liking Wednesdays for this, but I might run again Friday, assuming I'm not busy. If not, expect a post from me in the weekend QTG. ))