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 Let's set the scene: Its a dusky summer day, the last class has been let out, students are milling about slowly finding their path home, and there he is -  Nikolai Bruskina, the talk of the Academy. As the only exchange student from Belarus, and 4th son of the Belarus national hero 'Iron Blood Ivanah', Nikolai is a natural object of curiosity for the other students. The fact that he rarely speaks, constantly seems tense, and always manages to disappear immediately after school only adds to the sense of mystery around him. And if there is one rule both teenagers and superheroes know by heart - it's that mysteries attract attraction. "Hey, Nikolai!" She asks, stopping him just before he leaves the school grounds. "Please, just call me Nick." He replies while turning towards the voice, ah, a classmate, he knows how this will go. "Okay, Nick, I just wanted to ask you... Would you like to go to a cafe with me, and some friends, and study for the test tomorrow? I was just thinking that, English isn't your first language, sooo maybe we could help you or just..." She stops, embarrassed by how obvious she's being. He looks at her for just a half-second too long, and says "I am sorry, I'm busy tonight, but if I ever need help I'll keep your offer in mind. Now excuse me, I must go." With those quick words he starts to leave. She does not follow. He does not go with the crowd of students heading to the subway for a ride home, nor does he group up with friends and start to plan some nightly fun. Instead, he walks alone and focused towards an old park that has been overshadowed by it’s more impressive neighbors and is always abandoned by this time of day. He enters the public restroom there, and if one were to put their ear to the stall they would hear not just the rustling of clothes being changed, but the creaking and cracking of bones adjusting to a new form. Then I walk out.  I am Judith Prince, a runaway, and I think I'm going to be late for work. quote:The Janus quote:When did you first put on the mask? Why? Hmm, it’s hard to know where to start. I’ve wanted to be a hero for basically forever, and I’ve fought with Dad about it for just as long. I guess this all started a couple months ago, when--- (fade out) Flashback posted:“No, you shut up, dad!” Judith yelled as she slammed the door. It was the same argument they’d been having for months, and it ended the same way it always did – in her defeat. She had not expected her father to be happy when she told him that she wanted to go to Arcadia Academy become a professional Hero, but she had expected she’d be able to wear him down over the months before graduation. She had been wrong. That was when we started to plan this whole thing. Later I destroyed my laptop’s hard drive, threw my phone on a bus going out of town to confuse them, and met with ‘Beladon’ at the airport. Since that day Judith Prince has been a missing person. Why we did it then? It was just a good opportunity. There wasn’t much time left before the new semester at the Academy started, so when my parents left for work I went for it. Honestly, I didn’t think too much about it. quote:Why do you keep a secret identity? It’s simple: I was born a hero. I have great power, and thus a great responsibility to use it - for good, of course. This is where Dad would say, “No, you were born a mutant (and there’s nothing wrong with that, sweetie). You don't have a responsibility to waste your life chasing danger.” But he’s the whole problem! He’s a District Attorney for the city of New Arcadia, and probably the most boring person you’ll ever have the misfortune of meeting. He thinks the Heroes are nothing but a ‘band of neglectful hooligans, up-jumped vigilantes who don’t care or understand the law.’ He’d come back from the office with stories of heroes putting their lives on the line to save civilians, and then being fined by the county for some nonsense collateral damage, and he’d expect me to laugh alongside him! Well, he told the stories a little differently, but I knew the truth. He always told me that “I’ll support you in anything, anything at all, as long as it’s not these foolish heroics.” but who does he think stared in the latest hit action movie? That’s right, Ms. Fantastical. Who does he think performed the first production at the Arcadia Opera House? It was the Ultrasonic Boom! Heroes are the stars of our era, and if he really loved me he wouldn’t hold back my potential! So that’s why I have to hide behind the Mask. Because if I’m found out, I’ll lose my future. quote:Who, outside of the team, knows about your dual identity? Nikolai Bruskina, aka the real White Emperor, aka the Worst Roommate.  So, full backstory for my ‘partner in crime’. He’s from Eastern Europe, and I don’t know if you know how heroics work over there but it’s waaaaay different than how things work here. His mom is a hero, and she isn’t so much employed by the state as much as… incorporated? Anyways, he inherited some amount of Powers from her, and so he’s expected to inherit her role in the future. He explained it to me as “Everything my family does - my mother, my brothers, and me – is supposed to reflect the Great National Character and Strength of the Belarus Peoples.” Unfortunately for the nation, Nikolai is a lazy floozy who only puts any effort into a stupid videogame. Seriously, he could be a HERO, but instead of wants to ‘practice and go pro’ in some game? I don’t understand his motivations at all, but I guess if he wasn’t this way none of this would be possible, so whatever. Anyways, we met online in a chat room for young super-humans and became private penpals, and when he came to Arcadia we realized we could solve both of our ‘parental problems’ by me using my powers to assume his identity. I get to go to Arcadia like I’ve always dreamed, he gets to unload all of his responsibilities onto me. Its a ‘win-win’. I wouldn’t have gone through with this if I knew how much of a slob he was. Seriously, I get back from work – work that mostly pays for our food and his internet! He says he makes money 'coaching' online, but I've neve - Ah, talking about this only angers me. Anyways, I get back from work, and --- (fade out) Flashback posted:It was night. Judith was climbing a set of stairs with a bag of groceries in her hand. She was still wearing her barista uniform. She reached the top and entered the door of an apartment. Living with him is a nightmare. But, well, I will admit he’s still a good friend. The only old friend I can talk to, nowadays, and I know he’d never rat me out because he’s in it just as deep as me, so I trust him. quote:Who thinks the worst of your masked identity? Scope, for sure. He's a hero that's famous for being supernaturally accurate, to the point where it wouldn't be contested to say he's never missed a shot, and rumor has it that he was 'in service' of some pretty covert agencies before going public. At the Academy he teaches an advanced level course on Gunmanship for gunslinger heroes, and sometimes he substitutes in as the PE teacher - that's how I first met him. Right after class started he pulled me (disguised as Nikolai, of course) aside and said "So, you're Ivanah's little runt, huh? Got her eyes. Well, go on, what'd she say about me?" I was at a complete loss for words. Do I give a flattering lie? Will he be able to see through it? Were they friends or rivals? Ultimately I decided to go with what I thought was a safe bet, "She's never mention you, sir." I've never seen a hero angrier in my life. I was honestly so scared that I lost control of my powers and my hair started to turn white. Luckily, he was too furious to notice; he stormed off and left the whole class still running laps. Every time I've seen him since then he's just, just bullied me. Making me run more laps, or do different tests from anyone else, or just answer strange questions like "How far can you see?" Whenever we pass each other in the hallway I have to stop myself from shrinking back, and he gets this irritated look on his face. I haven't brought it up to anyone other than Nikolai because, given my situation, I want to attract the least amount of attention possible. Nikolai told me I had given the right answer, his mother never mentioned Scope to him. Neither of us know that Scope is Nikolai's biological father. His proof that love can bloom on the battlefield. quote:Why do you care about the team? All of the fearful secrecy, all of the frustration from dealing with Nikolai's horseshit, all of the homesickness - all of it disappears when I'm on the team. Being on the team means being a hero, and that's what I've sacrificed everything for. The fact that some of the other team members only seem to be in the Academy of necessity instead of choice, or don't really even understand what being a hero entails is a little vexing. quote:What made you decide to join the academy? Those people are liars. I've seen my father work. I know the gulf between being a vigilante and being a hero. Vigilantes are warned, charged, fined, probated, and arrested. Heroes are respected, forgiven, imitated, indulged, and important. The Academy is the bridge between the two sides, and I can only be a hero if I cross it. Heroics without credentials would just make me a madwoman. Oh my god I sounded so much like my dad just then, bleh. Anyways, my family's been in New Arcadia since the founding. The Academy has been my dream since I was first told that being able to grow a foot in height at will wasn't normal, and that I was born with a mu-tay-shun. quote:Which hero sponsored your entrance into the academy? What did you do to impress them? 'Iron Blood' Ivanah  She's a legend. No one could possibly deny that. She came into prominence after the fall of the Soviet Union, and was a major beacon of order in the chaos that followed. She's saved Minsk from destruction more than a dozen times, Moscow thrice, and even Paris once (she was on vacation)! She's defeated more villains than I could even remember, and was basically the go to hitwoman for the EU Heroics Department after Belarus and Russia joined. She's strong, tough, fast, and according to more unofficial tales of her valor, at least partially magic. She's semi-retired now, living as a national hero in Minsk, and all of her kids inherited parts of her power. Well, Nikolai not the strength or toughness, but he tested 99th percentile in reflexes and vision so he was officially confirmed superhuman. So when Iron Blood Ivanah told the Academy they were going to teach her youngest son it did not matter that she 'technically' wasn't able to sponsor a student without being faculty. Telling her no would've been a diplomatic incident. Nikolai had no chance of being rejected. And then I took his place. How did I impress her? Well, according to Nikolai, the last time he talked to his mom in person they had a big argument that started because he refused to live in the Academy Dorms because he had read that it's internet was too slow for games. She told him to suck it up, plans had already been made. He said he'd still go to Academy, he just wanted to stay at a place in the city with proper internet. She replied "Fine. Find a place you like, I'll pay your rent, and nothing else. Get a job if you want anything else." Well jokes on her, I got a job so that he can have food and internet! loving Nikolai. That's not what impressed her. What impressed her was - Imagine you were a mom, and you've just sent your son off to a foreign country on a pretty nasty note. You get the first reports of his performance at school, and they read: "Breakthroughs in all previous physical benchmarks." "Seems serious-minded about heroics." "No trouble with English language instruction" "Studious in the classroom." Imagine how you feel? She sent me (well, Nikolai) a gift.  It came with a note: "My Dearest Kolya, I am pleased at your progress in Arcadia. Take this sword as a gift. It was forged with a drop of my blood, so that it can protect you where I cannot. Love, Your Mother. I told him about the sword, he said I could have it. I wanted to tell him about the note, but I couldn't. I really couldn't. He didn't earn it, I did. quote:Tell me about that one interesting person in your class! I mean, we were just kids so it was nothing serious - total puppy love! We'd hold hands, keep eachother up way too late texting, and other stupid stuff. Oh my god! I think I still have some poetry he wrote for me back in my old room. It was like I have magnet powers/but you're the one attracting me. We were so dumb! We never really had a breakup, though, our relationship just kind of... stopped after he got arrested. The story I know is: he was walking home from school when suddenly there was a cry of, "Ah, thief!" The purse snatcher ran right by him, and Michael did what every twerpy middle school boy wishes he could do in that could do situation; he was going to be the hero. He used his powers to rip out out a nearby fire hydrant, and threw it as hard as he could at the thief. Michael stopped him, and broke his leg, and flooded half a neighborhood. He was charged with Assault With A Mutant Power and Destruction of City Property. It was an open and shut case. My dad was the prosecutor. I begged him to somehow tip the scales in Michael's favor, to go easy on him, he was just trying to help! Dad looked at me and said, "It's a good thing this happened now. He'll get off easy due to his age, but he needs to learn that in the 'eyes of society -" he paused to reconsider his words "- vigilantes are villains.'" Then he walked out of the room, refusing to meet my tear-filled gaze. Due to the extenuating circumstances of the case, Michael only got hit with a couple weeks of juvie and was ordered to attend a weekly 'Anger Management and Power Control for Young Mutants' course for the next year. He ended up missing so many classes that he got held back a year at school, and so stopped being my classmate. I just kind of... avoided him from that point. Whenever I saw him I felt guilty, like it was my fault for what my dad did, so I just tried to see him as little as possible. I was really surprised to see him at the Academy. I guess he must've gotten into some kind of accelerated hero program or straight up sponsored in somehow. He still seems like the Michael I knew in middle school, just grown up. I have to be more careful around him than normal because he knows of my true powers (I kept a lot of my abilities hidden from dad) and might be able to figure it out if I act weird. It would be really, really fun to be able to talk to him freely, though! quote:What's your favorite class? What about least favorite? Favorite class? Superheroic Law. Not even joking. All of the boring dinner conversations over law with my Dad have finally paid off! If I didn't have to maintain my power I could basically sleep through this class and pass with an A. Also, my Dad co-wrote the textbook, not even joking. Look at the blurb on the title page: "In the eyes of society, unbound justice is indistinguishable from abject villainy. In this new era of human history it is critical to acknowledge not just the vast disparity between the super human and the merely human, but the tyranny that would inevitably occur should the former rule over the latter. It is only when acting under the law, as defined by the collective will of all peoples through the democratic process, that superhumans become superheroes." - Gerald H. Prince Least favorite? PE. Not because it's too physically demanding (I'm very physically competent!), but because of how my powers work. To stay shapeshifted I have to mentally 'clench' the form of my body. It's about as difficult for me to do that as it is for other people to clench there abs - so no problem at all. But imagine you had to do a bunch of laps or play soccer while clenching your abs the whole time? Yeah, it's pretty exhausting! And on days when Scope is our PE. teacher it's just a total nightmare. I mean, I can keep myself together, but I just feel totally drained afterwards. Holding my form is a lot less of a problem in actual Field Work thanks to that sick motorcycle helmet I added to the White Emperor's costume. If my hair starts to revert or my skin splotches I don't need have drop everything to readjust myself as long as my head is hidden. quote:What do you like to do in your free time? Haha, jokes aside, whenever I'm not working at Cafeblanca, practicing my imitation of Nikolai so I don't slip up, practicing with The Blood Rapier so I don't look like a total incompetent, doing the grocery shopping, cooking our meals, cleaning up after Nikolai, or just studying for school I'm mostly... mostly... sleeping. Next question. quote:New Arcadia’s a pretty sweet place, isn’t it? Tell me about that one cool place you like! It's a real hole in the wall, but it's close enough to school, pays under the table, and most importantly is the kind of place my dad would never, ever visit. The owner is an old piece of salt named Meg who wanted someone to watch the place in the evening so she could go out drinking sooner. I showed up, told her I saw the sign and was interested in the job, and after a probationary period she even lets me close the shop now. I think she know's I'm in some kind of trouble with my parents, but just doesn't care. She's pretty cool. But she gets pissed if I'm late or, god forbid, miss a shift. So yeah, I show up after school and keep the place going through the evening. It's not exactly bumping, so I mostly just make a couple lattes and dump the stale coffee every hour. People from school do show up every so often, though - like that girl I mentioned at the very start of this. She stopped by with a friend and was complaining about how distant and cold the cute foreign boy is, but wouldn't it be cool to date him and have a chance to meet Iron Blood Ivanah in person! I didn't know either to laugh or cry, so I just served coffee. I don't shapeshift when working because I'm already stressing myself out doing it constantly at school. I need time to rest my powers. There isn't really anyone who would know me from my old life in this part of town, though, and no one from my middle school went to the Academy - except Michael. Crap. What if he comes to the cafe? How did I not think about that! Ugh, I've been so busy. If I see him I'll try to shapeshift my face, but if sees me doing that he'll know for sure it's me! Ah, crap, crap, ****! quote:(Optional) Hey, guess what! They’re making a variant cover focusing on you! Please describe the cover to me! On the right side Judith is herself, in her barista uniform, and holding in her other hand a serving tray with hot coffee on it. Behind her is Nikolai at his computer, surrounded by soda bottles, yelling in enthusiastic victory. Cover Text is: Runaway #1 - She wants to be a hero with all her heart, but with great power, comes an even greater workload. Theme Song: Now I Want quote:(Optional) Suggest a name for the IC thread. Scrree fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Feb 1, 2017 |
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Tardzilla posted:White Emperor I wasn't there, but I heard it was quite the scene. Dad showed up at the Academy, at midnight, screaming that his daughter had been kidnapped, and they needed to bring her back now. Here's a thing you need to understand about my Dad. Heroes do not like him. He has been railing against them and advocating for limiting their power since the foundation of New Arcadia. Some respect him, but no one owes him any favors. So the heroes put in the normal, and still very substantial, amount of effort into trying to track me down. They tried to trace my through my phone, but I had left a false trail, they scoured for any news of a kidnapping from the villain underworld, but found nothing there, they even used magic to try and scry me, but only images of the Academy itself appeared. Eventually, without any reasonable leads or motives (no villain has a grudge against Gerald 'Hardass' Prince, the legal bane of heroes), they dropped the case from kidnapping to missing person. I did see my parents at the Academy, once. They were leaving the administrative office and when I saw them I froze. I tried to make myself look as inconspicuous and Nikolai-like as possible. Mom looked like she had just finished crying, and Dad looked absolutely furious - my guess is they got told that the heroes were doing all they can do, and bumping the case back up to a kidnapping was not possible without new evidence. Watching them leave, looking at their faces, it made me feel really bad. Maybe I should leave a note somewhere, saying that I'm okay.... No. I can't. The heroes are good detectives, and if I leave a clue at all I know they'll find me, and then they'll bring me before Dad and, and god! Forget the Academy, I probably won't see New Arcadia again! He'll ground me for eternity and we'll move to Greenland and I'll never be a hero! No, it has to be this way. What I do not about my father is that he is far more distraught and scared for my safety than I could ever imagine, and if the heroes failing in their search, he might resort to some less-than-legal agencies who say they can get the job done. quote:- Forged with... a drop of her blood? That's, uh, nice. So, does the sword have any kind of special powers/abilities? Have you had much trouble using it? Iron Blood Ivanah has an oddly shrouded origin for how popular she is. Everyone knows about her first big heroic adventure, when she took down the Shock Therapist - the villain who set himself up as the petty tyrant of Lithuania, but there really isn't any information on her before that. Also, there are stories of her heroics that have been kind of... unofficially censored? Like, if you were a big fan of hers (okay, I'll admit, I kind of was. She's such a cool female hero!) you could go online and read old newspapers that reported the time she traveled to Bratislava and fought against the Fairy Queen Elnoira, but when someone tried to add that story to her wiki bio it'd always get deleted. It was figured out that only records involving magical creatures got censored; the Bruskina family obviously has some kind of magical origin, and maybe some kind of magical weakness. Internet fans speculated wildly about what it could be - my personal fav. theory was that Ivanah was the descendant of a slavic peasant who met a witch. The peasant made a bet that he could eat a iron horseshoe, and after he succeeded he was blessed with the strength of iron in his blood, but he and his descendants would lose that power in the presence of horses, for his blood knew it's place under their hooves. I'm sorry, I lost my train of thought. The Blood Rapier (my, and no one else's, name for it) is absolutely enchanted. It never loses it's edge, and is far sharper than any replica katana you could order online. In short... The sword is perfect. The problem is me. Swordfighting is not a hobby I had as a child. I don't have any experience, so I'm basically a clumsy monkey using a masterpiece as a cudgel. I've been trying to find as much time as possible to practice, but my schedule is so packed, and practicing while in Nikolai's form strains my stamina even more than normal. Sometimes when I do practice, and I'm sweating and tired and feeling like a total novice, I'll experience the faintest sensation of a pair of arms, holding me up. And... and one time when I came back from school, totally exhausted, I just dropped on my bed with my duffel bag on top of me. The sword was in the duffel bag. That night I dreamt I was a child learning to read for the first time, sitting in my mother's lap with a book in front of me. Only the book was in Russian, the child was a boy with blonde curls, and the woman was... Yeah. When I woke up, unlike every other time I've fallen asleep while shapeshifted, I was still in Nikolai's form. The sword is perfect, though. quote:- Your secret was almost exposed! What happened, and how did you manage to narrowly avoid being exposed? Oh God, I don’t want to remember. That was one of the most terrifying days of my life; I actually can’t believe I got out of there without everything falling apart. It all started in final period, when the teacher said he had a very special announcement to make... [Flashback start] It was National Mental Well-Being day in New Arcadia, and what this ‘holiday’ meant for the first year students of the Academy was that instead of their normal soporific dose of Superheroic Law they were to attend one on one “non-invasive, non-recorded, non-optional’ interviews with one of the most well regarded Heroes in the whole city – Otis 'Mr. Empathy' Earhart.  The students waited idly for their turn, passing time by chatting aimlessly or checking their phones. Only one student resisted the atmosphere of ease. Nikolai Bruskina looked like he was going to puke. He rejected all forms of communication except for terse replies, and he could hear some other students openly wonder that he might have misinterpreted the word ‘interview’ for ‘interrogation’. What they could not know is that he understood exactly what was happening, and that he was spending all of his mental energy praying for a meteor to strike the city as soon as possible. More students went into the soundproof room, and returned saying remarks like “What a cool dude”; still no meteor came. In the end, despite his prayers and the fact that he positioned himself at the very back of the line, it inevitably became Nikolai’s turn. He entered a small room mostly occupied by a large table with two chairs standing opposite eachother. On the far chair sat a pleasant looking man holding a clipboard, he rose when Nikolai enter, “Nikolai Bruskina, correct? Please, take a seat.” Nikolai settled into his seat in silence. Was it true that the hero was such a strong empath that could not only read feelings, but thoughts as well? The pleasant man smiled, “You probably know me. I’m Dr. Earhart, or Mr. Empathy if you must use the name I foolishly picked as a child, and don’t believe the rumors - I can’t read thoughts.” The hero chuckled a bit at Nikolai’s reaction, “Look, Nikolai, can I call you Nick?” “Yes.” “Look Nick, it wouldn’t take an empath to notice that you’re looking a bit tense. I don’t know how things are done where you come from, but this is honestly just a bit of perfunctory theater demanded by the schoolboard. I’ll ask some questions from the list, you answer me honestly, I mark them off, and then we’re both done here, okay?” “Okay.” “Alright, lets get started, then. Have you ever felt bullied by any fellow students?” “No.” Dr Earhart made a mark on his clipboard, “That’s good, have you ever felt bullied by any of the faculty of the New Arcadia Academy?” Scope’s face came to Nikolai’s mind, “No.” The doctor froze for the briefest moment, and then quickly smiled and marked something on his clipboard. “Good. Do you find attending the Academy rewarding?” “Yes.” Nikolai knew he could tell, “Good. Would you consider yourself to be living a stressful life?” “No.” This game was going end soon, and then he’d be found out. “Good. Are your parents, or current legal guardian, supportive of your interest in heroics?” “Yes.” The clipboard fell on the table, Dr. Earhart rubbed the bridge of his nose, “I did not expect this.” Nikolai tried to remain calm, “What’s wrong, sir?” He was ignored. A desperate heat spread throughout his body, red blush staining his cheeks. “Straight-A student, and the son of a legend, too...” The doctor snapped out of his musings and leaned towards the cornered boy, “Look, Bruskina, I don’t like to do this to a student, but you’ve raised several red flags already. I know you’ve been lying, and I need you to explain yourself honestly or I’ll be forced to escalate this case to Administration. And what happens then will not be pleasant.” What could he do? He couldn’t cut through the silence, every lie he thought of rotted in his throat. Was there anyway out? What would the real Nikolai do – no, that guy was a worthless model. He’d just smile and ask to call his mom. What do you say when the truth means doom, but lying is impossible? Double Flashback? posted:Gerald Prince sat in front a roaring fireplace, idly swirling a glass of scotch in his hand, "It's always a mistake to go on the defensive." His sharp eyes flickered in the light, "It puts you in a weak position. You end up answering instead of questioning. The opponent finds himself free to move or strike as he wishes while you sit immobile." He gazed at the child sitting across from him, “You say that telling the truth is the opposite of lying? Where did you learn such childish thinking! There are as many truths in the world as there are tongues, and they oppose only each other.” The flame spilled out of the fireplace, encompassing the whole room, yet his voice pierced it’s roar, "Take the initiative, dictate the terms, create your own truth - that's how you win an argument, Judith!  She slammed her palms on the table, rising from her seat and briefly towering over the doctor, “You want an explanation? Fine, listen to my tale.” Break his preconceptions, “I am not Nikolai Bruskina! I am a shapechanger that has taken his form!” Set the tone, “I have done to gain entrance to the Academy. Not to infiltrate it as a spy, but to attend it as a student and learn to become a hero.” Create an antagonist, “My father is a being that has opposed heroes since the founding of New Arcadia. He is not native to this land, but I am, and I have only dreamed of protecting it’s people. He sought to oppress my dream, so I fled from him and hid.” Let the tears flow, “My impertinence has surely angered him – if he finds my whereabouts, I shall be punished. Understand that every word I say endangers my dream, for my father is old and I fear well connected to even the higher echelons of heroic society.” Drive the point home, “I only wish, above all other things in this world, to be a hero.” And pray that it works. Whatever Dr. Earhart had expected, that had not been it, “That’s...That’s totally ridiculous,” he paused, clearing tears away from his own eyes, “but it’s also the first honest thing you’ve said to me.” Judith smiled. The next few minutes were a blur of questions, answers, and Judith building her father into the figure of a Machiavellian devil. In her retelling of her past he became a diabolical monster that cruelly punished children, fought against heroes with a boundless determination, and most all of wanted nothing more than to crush his daughter’s dream. Her tactic to deal with unwanted questions was to give far too curt answers - “Where is the real Nikolai?” “Safe, at home.” - or simply act completely ignorant of human society. She intentionally loosened her powers, giving her face a splotchy and otherworldly appearance. Whenever Dr. Earhart got too deep into her past she simply drove the conversation back to “All I want is to be a hero; will you keep my secret?” The ringing of the school bell signaled the end of their conversation. Dr. Earhart startled at the noise, “poo poo, it’s been that long? Ah, excuse my French.” He looked Judith in the eyes, “Look, I don’t understand why you’re so deadest on becoming a hero… But if your father is as dangerous as you say, then maybe the Academy is the safest place for you. I’ll keep your secret to myself.” Judith let herself relax, knowing he would feel her gratitude. The doctor puffed up his chest, “And if your father ever comes out of whatever hole he’s hiding in, Mr. Empathy will be the first one to strike against him!” She laughed and said, “I’ll hold that image in my heart forever, sir.” With that she turned to leave, making sure to readjust her form into a perfect imitation of Nikolai’s. The doctor waved her off, “Goodbye… Ah, wait, what’s your name?” A flash of panic spread through her. Would it all fall apart on the last step? Nikolai Bruskina and the White Emperor were false, but Judith Prince was impossible to say. What was true and unique to only her? Fearing that indecision was death, she reached for the first thing that felt right, “You can call me the Runaway.” Scrree fucked around with this message at 05:30 on Jan 28, 2017 |
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Jan 23, 2017 22:24
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