Summary:Emma and Priscilla meet up with Hisako on the grounds of Horizon Academy. They tour and end up in the Powers Center for a test of their mettle. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Sunday, during summer session, the school is not exactly teeming with activity, but it is busier than many. Just after lunch time for most, the sky is dotted with a few clouds, the sun bright and the temp in the low eighties. Now, Emma Frost is a very busy lady, but even she has a little more free time on the weekends, and today she is out doing something she very much loves - dancing, in a way. Out on the grounds, she is part of a tai-chi class, her body moving well enough though she's only a novice at the art, she /does/ have a lot of training and practice as a dancer, and she is actually an able hand to hand combatant if not a physical menace.
Discreetly about the area are a few extra guards, her personal security detail, yes - it vexes her she /needs/ them, but she's in charge of the school, not the security, that's in the rather paranoid and capable hands of her daughters.
For some people, "summer" really means time off from school. For Hisako, though, it just means a different kind of classes to take her focus. She doesn't have classes to attend today, though, and she's got a little time off from her internship, so she's putting the time to use …
Checking out another school.
Of course she's heard about Horizon Academy, and while she's been a little slow to check it out for herself, she would at least have inquired officially about visiting the campus and seeing if it's somewhere she wants to pursue her studies - a Bachelor's degree, if she can pin down what she'd want to major in, or maybe switching her Associate's studies over from the Institute.
Whatever security is there at the front gate, Hisako submits to a reasonable amount of checking … particularly since *she* is also evaluating *them*, and the school's own safeguards. From what the news said after that incident - was it already two months ago? - the hostiles 'ported right into the middle of campus, but that doesn't mean she should ignore the perimeter.
Once she's on the grounds proper, Hisako would want to walk around a bit. Still, if she needs to meet with Ms. Frost directly, she won't want to waste either of their time.
Security has some rather advanced-looking scanners, both short pass-through boothes with blinking lights and some odd-looking hand-covering wands. With her prior contact, Hisako does not have to answer many questions, beyond showing her ID. She is then issued a plainly marked 'visitors' badge and asked to makes sure she is wearing it at all times. There are no outwardly distinguishing features on the badge aside from her picture, name, and 'Visitor' with the date. There's no explanation of biopattern keys or campus-wide tracking systems. No one needs to know that.
Also amongst the tai-chu chuan class is another figure whom in some ways could not be more different from Emma, and yet the parallels are startling to behold if one takes a moment to pull back and consider them. Of similar height, she is younger, amite curvier, noticeably stronger and more athletic, dark mocha-colored skin and with ebony hair in a riot of ringlets barely contained and swept back from her face. And as if that were not enough, she wears quite a lot of purple and only a barest minimum of white.
As seems to be habit, whenever Emma Frost is out amongst the public in the open, one of her daughters is nearby.
Dressed in a sports top leaving her midriff bare and snug fitted leggings, Emma's physical condition is readily apparent even if her hair is worn up in a bun, a pair of rods thrust through it. Yes, they're made of sufficiently robust materials to be effective as weapons in a pinch. The class is just winding down and Emma is looking fairly pleased with it, her skin lightly sheened with sweat.
Once it finishes she smiles to the instructor, offering a proper and respectful bow before turning to her daughter. "I like this one, I think I am going to enroll." Which is amusing if one thinks about it, the Headmistress actually enrolling in a class. A moment to move to where she has a bag, and out is taken a towel and a couple bottles of water, one handed to Pris. The bag, of course, was at the feet of one of the discrete security guards, never having left her sight during the class.
Thoughts scanning for danger, Emma stretches lightly and shakes out her arms as she bounces in place a bit. "Hrm…run or spar?"
As the tai chi class disperses, Hisako makes her way over to where Emma is talking to Pris, looking the two of them over. Rather than walk right up to them, though, Hisako comes to a halt about two, maybe two and a half meters away - close enough to be noticed, but not intruding on the conversation. If either of them want to talk to Hisako, the next move is up to them - but her visitor badge is nice and visible, clipped to the light grey sweater-vest she's wearing over a short-sleeved white blouse and charcoal-grey skirt.
Really, the sweater is a little bit of overkill in this weather - and Hisako knows it - but it doesn't add that much weight, as these things go.
Pris accepts the bottle of water, cracks it open and drinks from it, smiling. "I am reasonably certain you will pass the entrance exams." she teases aloud to Emma, a merry twinkle in her purple eyes. Most unfair of all is that she does not have a sheen of perspiration about her.
Pris glances past Emma, picking out Hisako as she recognizes Emma and moves in her direction. She shifts her gaze and pasture, but no defensive stance is visible; there is no threat she can detect, and she can detect this woman. "That looks a little warm. Welcome to Horizon Academy." Priscilla calls out to Hisako.
Eyes of sapphire gleam a bit as she's teased. "Well, I won't allow favoritism, of course. I'll pass on my own merits, or not at all." She means it too. Sure, favors and such are 'de riguer' in the business world. This is not that world, this the world of education, and flexible as her morality might be in other venues there's zero flexibility when it comes to academics.
Her gaze is drawn after her daughter's, and she offers the young lady in such prim attire a genial smile, a glance at the visitor's badge and her eyes widen just a smidge in recognition. "Ichiki, Hisako?" Her focus shifts to the girl's eyes, the smile morphing into more than the polite thing most visitors get. "Surely not the infamous UltraKaguko01?" To Pris's mental senses Emma is both surprised and delighted, beyond even what is visible to the eyes.
Only somebody who actually *had* a handle that embarassing - or at least, embarassing in the offline world - would blush the way Hisako does. "Kagaku," she corrects gently, "as in 'Science Patrol,' but … it's a pleasure to meet you face-to-face, 'ModernMab'."
Look, you tease her with *her* embarassing old message-forum handle, she's allowed to reply in kind, right?
Gathering her composure again, Hisako straightens up and bows politely to both Emma and Pris. "I feel like I should apologize for not visiting your new Academy sooner." She has a genuine friendly smile on her face as she straightens up from the bow. "I was worried about that incident in the papers, but it seems like you've rebounded from it, and they haven't tried again. I *am* curious about enrolling here, as you might guess."
She pauses, looking a little rueful as she nods to Priscilla. "Just a little. It's lighter than it looks, though."
The dark-hued woman with the bountiful (overbountiful? Is that a thing?) curves quirks an eyebrow at the chat handles being thrown around; she was never an internetite, until months ago when Emma first showed her how to be able to keep the stupid symbols from swanning around like mad before her eyes. As such, she has not much to say about those things.
"I am glad it is more comfortable than it looks." Pris offers, when it won't interrupt the bantering between her mother and their guest. "I do not have any interesting if embarrassing chat room names to offer. You can just call me Priscilla, or Pris." She gestures towards Emma. "Her second adopted daughter."
"Oh, of course, my apologies, Miss Ichiki, my Japanese is a bit rusty." Emma can't help but laugh, and rub at the back of her neck a bit at that reminder of /her/ handle. "Mm…Queen of Air and Darkness, Fairy Queen of the Winter Court. Dear lord, is there a rule that forum names have to be embarrassing?" Emma turns to her daughter. "Priscilla Frost, this is a friend I made online some few years ago, we've been 'pen pals' for years." She nods then to what Pris says. "And yes, Pris is my daughter." This last bit to Hisako.
"No need to apologize, I am sure you have a great deal on your plate." She nods once, sharply. "Oh yes, we've rebounded and are taking steps to be sure that the problem doesn't become recurring." She moves to the younger girl, and offers her hands. "You are most welcome, Miss Ichiki, and we'll be happy to show you around if you'd like?"
Hisako clasps Emma's offered hands, her smile less restrained now. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Priscilla," she greets Emma's adoptive daughter. "And yes, the tour would be welcome - I'd like to know what to expect if I do enroll here. I've got an internship going at RESCUE, but hopefully that would carry over to some form of credit here?"
Pris is not going to discuss academics here; that is her mother's milleaeu. Instead, she just happily trots along, bending over to scoop up their bag and sling it over her shoulder. "RESCUE, hunh? We've heard about their work. They're on the other side of the Zone, of course." Naturally the paranoid daughters have paid close attention to who is around and what they are up to; Catseye has made it clear RESCUE are good people, and Pris obviously trusts her sister's instincts on such matters.
As they walk past, Pris stops near the largest of the statuary on campus, the central piece at the heart of the fountain in the center of the Quad. This piece, above all others, speaks to her deeply. She always makes a point to pay attention to it whenever she is near. Then she picks up the pace to catch up with the pair.
Emma is very very proud of her daughter, it is plain as day, she's is almost as proud of Horizon, which shows her priorities are straight. She squeezes Hisako's hands, and then frees them, motioning towards the heart of the quad, to the huge fountain with the statue in the middle. Emma too is oft moved by the bronze statue showing a very diverse bunch of folks looking off into the distance with hope. Different genders, ethnicities, even an obvious mutant - a child still swaddled.
A moment to pause and reflect, and then she looks to Hisako. "That's the core." Hope. Peace. Diversity.
Looking about, she smiles with great pride. "This is place that is inclusive, and yes, I am sure that your internship credits and those from the Institute can be transferred here should you wish to. Both are accredited."
She looks about the grounds. "We have a concert later at the bandshell, why don't you stick around, and we might just be able to arrange for a seat." You know, being the school's administrators and such. The grounds have a number of people reading, playing frisbee, there's a spirited volleyball game ongoing, and what looks to be a lot of folks just enjoying the summer sun. "So…where to first? Medical and Library? The Powers Center perhaps, it is no Danger Room, but it is still pretty solid." A nod. "Arts and athletics? Sciences and Engineering? Or maybe the student center and housing?"
Good questions all. Hisako considers as she walks along with Pris and Emma. The core draws a long look from Hisako, and a nod to Emma as she emphasizes the school's inclusivity.
"What I'm studying right now is architecture - you remember what my powers are, right?" she adds, the question just a little sheepish. "I'd been thinking in terms of 'what can I do that's practical' … I mean. Most schools don't really have a track for a career as a superhero." She's not *quite* joking when she says that.
Most schools don't have tracks for exotic dancers either. Their loss! Priscilla stays quiet for now, as this is about the school, which is Emma's bailliwick. If questions of security come up, since Catseye is not here Pris will do her best to stand in and explain as needed. For now, she's just enjoying a stroll with her mother and one of her mother's friends? Mention of the institute does get her attention; that must be Sharon's old school. Interesting.
"As I recall you can generate a psionic energy field about your body, psychokinetic armor as it were. Highly resistant to damage, and it augments your strength. Weaker against lasers and such since it is translucent, yes?" Emma's got a pretty good memory it would seem.
A sharp laugh. "No, superhero 101 is not really on the curriculum. We /do/ offer training in powers usage, however, and classes on metahuman ethics, and the like. So not /quite/ Superhero 101." More practical things.
A warm smile to Pris, and then she motions towards the Powers Center. "Lets start there, Miss Ichiki. As I said, it is not the Danger Room, but…I think you'll be impressed all the same." Mentally, to Pris. «We've been online friends for some time now, Hisako is a mutant, as I'm sure you've caught on. I have always found her to be sensible.»
One of these days, somebody WILL figure out how to train future superheroes. Officially. Until then, the class on metahuman ethics sounds like an excellent start, and Hisako would be lying if she said she's not at least curious about the Powers Center. "I'm sure I will be," she agrees with a smile - since the subject's come up, she *does* want to see what Horizon has. And if it leads to a chance to spar?
Well, as long as she doesn't wind up fighting somebody with hard-light powers or actual laser vision, she's pretty sure she'll walk away fairly unscathed.
Unless those parties are all mind-whammy cheaters! Like, maybe, Emma and her daughter. Pris chuckles wryly as Emma brings up 'superhero 101'. It's odd, really; Pris does not consider herself a superheroine at all, for all that she considers herself a super, or a metahuman. It's the hero label she doesn't feel fits, though many who know her best disagree.
« I caught that, Mother. » Both parts: mutant, and long-time online friends. « She seems reasonable to me. Not at all as judgemental as the Institute has been. » Pris has a negative opinion of the Institute, for all the good it has done for her sister. It may not be fair, but that's how it is.
Yeah, fighting Pris or Emma is going to end poorly for most people, that's for sure. Emma has been working on her physical training lately, though, it is clear she has a plan of some sort but she's not mentioned it yet. Still in the works perhaps. Pris is an especially tough nut to crack being gifted both mentally /and/ physically.
«Forgive me, daughter, I meant no insult, merely to offer clarity. Honestly, the best thing I did for her? I did /not/ seek to recruit her for the Hellfire Academy.»
Emma leads the way to the powers center, the single largest structure on the campus, the building shaped rather like a full size sports arena, fully roofed over, and even from this safe distance it is clearly very sturdy and heavily reinforced. There's also a much more significant security presence as they approach it. "This is the most secure building on the campus, in the event of emergency this is where folks evacuate." She explains as they approach. The guards /do/ ask for Emma and Pris's credentials, too, nobody is exempted.
It all makes sense for Hisako; the Danger Room is the most heavily protected chamber at the Xavier Institute, as well, so for the Powers Center to share in that secondary function is only reasonable. Besides, any facility designed to contain superpowers of a certain intensity is going to function quite adequately as a fortress on top of that, almost by definition.
Hisako lets them check her own credentials - ID again, if they need it, or just inspecting her badge to make sure it matches what was issued at the front gate. If she's still evaluating the security she sees, she doesn't make a spectacle of it.
Badges serve as keys to biometric profiles, which are matched against scans to identify each individual; without Emma or Pris here, Hisako's visitor's badge would get a firm but respectful exclusion here. But with them in attendance, a swipe of her badge and a walk through one of the security pass-through booths is all it takes. The security guards are swift and professional. There is no posturing, and they are firm yet unfailingly polite.
Priscilla chuckles mind-to-mind. « You weren't insulting, Mother. And I concur; that is a kindness you did for her, given what befell your first students. » A sense of a hug enfolding Emma passes through their link, as both women evaluate their security employees' effectiveness before the large blast doors of the Powers Center roll away to admit them inside. "This was also one of our uninvited guests' true targets." she admits to Hisako.
"I will trust your good sense, Miss Ichiki…please do not speak overmuch about what you see here, much of it is proprietary. Obviously no secret will last forever, but I ask you to be circumspect all the same." Emma definitely approves of the cool professionalism and efficiency, a nod to the guards as they're vetted and then passed through.
«Yes.» Such a wealth of remembered pain at that one word utterance, and then she returns the mind-hug.
"Indeed it was." A target.
Once they pass through the massive doors, they enter another checkpoint, this one with a more thorough scan. "The building is essentially a massive Faraday Cage, you'll find you have no cel reception inside, though there are comms that can penetrate from our internal network." Once through the checkpoint she leads the way to the locker rooms, and then into one of the control booths. "There's a primary 'arena' here, and ten special purpose rooms, each of the rooms programmable for specific powers and tests. The main arena is where we're going now, at present it is unbooked, and I thought you might like to see what it can do."
"Of course it would have been," Hisako replies, sympathetic but otherwise neutral.
She hasn't let on that based on the little bit the press picked up, she's pretty sure she knows who was behind the attack. Granted that mercenaries could come from just about anywhere or anyone, but the photos of Nova Hounds being taken apart, literally and otherwise? Now *that* narrowed it down, as a certain English time-traveler might have put it.
And yes, the talk about the uninvited guests has Hisako thinking about it more specifically. She's not shielding her thoughts as much as she could, mostly trusting Emma's discretion and good manners - plus, if she were keeping her mind too rigorously defended, it might invite suspicion that she has something to actively hide … but for now, she's content to be a good guest. "I'll keep the secrets you ask of me, Ms. Frost …. or," she smiles wryly, "are we old enough friends now that I should call you 'Emma'? Even if you might be my teacher here?"
It's an honest question. Mention of the Faraday cage draws a nod, and she goes ahead and turns her phone off for good measure. "How well do the rooms adapt to deal with powers you don't know about?" Hisako wonders. Her own powers aren't *that* exotic; the manifestation of them might be, but super-strength, telekinesis, and size-shifting are relatively well-known - and when it comes to size, her armor only goes 'up' from human.
"Emma has done a lot of research regarding many and widely varied powersets. And that data has gone into adapting and adjusting the Powers Center accordingly." Priscilla offers. She shrugs. "We have not had anyone come in with anything we could not adapt to. But that does not mean it can't happen."
"As Pris has stated, I have done considerable research but…every single room has a power nullifier built in for emergencies, and that includes a global one for the entire facility. One of the bigger secrets here." They can declare a moratorium on powers usage, that's a big deal and surely a huge tactical advantage if used well.
A smile then. "And of course you can call me Emma, but only in private, if you please. If we're going to be student and teacher then in that setting I'd bee Miss or Headmistress Frost. When it is just us and my family? I *insist* on Emma, Miss Ichiki."
A faint sigh. "I do have to confess that Magic is the one area that is a bit weak, we're Horizon, not Hogwarts."
Into the main arena they go, and Emma steps up to a control panel and starts fiddling with the thing. After a moment, she nods. "There." Lights come up, and the central area has the flooring slide away as a full on jungle rises up, complete with a section of river in the middle. After a few moments they can see a number of dinosaurs stomping about. "They can't see us, their sensors only extend to the boundaries of the arena." This is…damned impressive work, the foliage thick, and even from where they stand there's the scent of wild flowers. "Care to see how you fair against a pack of velociraptors?" This to both girls.
Hisako inclines her head in agreement at Ms. Frost's response regarding what to call her. "That sounds fair and appropriate. 'Emma,' then, for right now."
The comment about the school being 'Horizon, not Hogwarts' draws a soft laugh from the Japanese girl … although in hindsight, seeing the main arena online, Hisako has to wonder if they *didn't* drag some magic into things. "Wow," she says softly, seemingly only half-hearing the invitation to try her skills. "What would happen if one of the dinosaurs got thrown out of the 'field'? Are they holographic?" That's the only logical explanation she can think of - although, again, there are different sorts of holograms.
"I didn't really dress for fighting," Hisako admits, "but if Priscilla wants to see what she and I can do together …" She floats up into the air a little before her armor forms about her, the psychokinetic projection adjusting so that her skirt won't foul where her armor's legs meet its torso. That makes her armor about seven feet tall, compared to Hisako's physical five feet and a few inches.
Pris glances down at herself and up at her mother, giving a put-upon faux sigh. "Yes, mother." she teases. "I will 'go play', mother." How does one know that they love each other? The fact that they can and do tease one another without an ounce of emotional venom to it.
Pris watches Hisako change and smiles, nodding. "Nice trick. I like it." She demonstrates no powers at all, though, as she drops her towel and her water bottle with the bag and walks to the door, keying the controls to cycle the door open and closed in fifteen seconds; just long enough for she and Hisako to amble on through.
Right before the door closes, though, Pris calls out, "Computer, engage soundtrack: Prissy Kitten, playlist two." Blame Sharon; she set up computer controls around here.
And suddenly as they go into the jungle, music starts thundering through the central arena. Naturally, the first track is Welcome to the Jungle, performed by Pink.
"And shall I call you Hisako when private then?" Emma queries. After all, they /are/ friends. She grins. "No, not entirely, they're modular combat chassis with holographic visual emulation. Unfortunately 'hard light' is something we cannot do here, so, we use more primitive means. If one of the droids is hurled from the arena it will immediately lose power and go dormant." She won't mention the overrides to allow them to keep power, those are really only for use in an emergency scenario.
A grin at the laugh, and she's thinking so forcefully that Emma and Pris likely will hear that. "Unfortunately we don't have many contacts in the magical arena, though I might want to reach out to someone." Perhaps Zatanna Zatara, the Mistress of Magic - she /is/ a fairly well known mage after all.
A bright smile when Pris teases and then so put upon agrees to go play. Hey! Not like Emma is suited to combat with the dinos! "Have fun, dear." She says in a merry sing-song voice that she /very/ rarely uses. And the very instant the two girls enter the arena, Emma grins and engages the droids, a pack of six velociraptors a la Jurassic Park. The air inside is /hot/ and very damp, and the air is very rich in oxygen, in short the environment is actually fairly consistent with that of the period. Thick scents of vegetation and the buzzing of large dragonflies the size of hawks and teeming insect life add to the verisimilitude. One thing Emma adds on her own, she gifts the droids with mental auras, animal level, but enough to simulate their being alive. Lost on Armor of course, but a nice touch for Pris.
One of the dinos lifts her head, and then she makes a hunting call to the others, the pack of big scary dinos darting off in three groups of two to close the distance and attack from different vectors.
When that music starts playing Emma can't contain a bright laugh. "I don't know which is worse - the list itself, or the name." Still, Emma does find her foot tapping to the song as she runs the controls personally.
Hisako follows Pris into the arena proper, honing her senses to alertness. Scent isn't necessarily that helpful to her, and the foliage is thick enough to make vision a bit of a trick, but she can certainly *listen* for them - and listen she does … even if she winces a little at the music. Just make this harder, why don't you? she thinks … but it's with amusement.
The raptors call to each other, and Hisako hears them rustling along as they divide their forces. "Should we stick together, watch each other's backs?" she asks Pris. "Or split up and try to take them out first?" Probably best to stick together, but she wants to know what the other girl is thinking.
"You're bigger, and a little bit slower. I thought I'd let you go down the middle, and I'd run around and cover your flanks?" Priscilla offers, apparently not minding on the scent, the noises, the music, or any of the rest of it. But she beams with pleasure about something, as those psychic auras come online, allowing her to track the blasted dinos as easily as breathing. Mommy made today easy!
That said, Pris sprints - cripes, the girl is fast; maybe not a speedster, but she would probably smoke Olympic athletes - out to the left and sweeps around Hisako, helping to drive the raptors towards her practice partner.
Unarmed, with no weapons available and facing opponents that she can't just mind-zot, one would think Pris would be in big, big trouble. And one would be right … except, you see, Pris is definitely a multi-pronged threat. She's fast, incredibly agile, far stronger than she appears … and as soon as they need to really hurt the dinos, those hands of hers will transform into Geiger-esque claws. Raptors may be dangerous as all get-out, but they still have tendons and can be disabled.
It's not like Hisako cannot guess that clearly Pris must be powered, or Emma would never send her in here.
Say instead she makes it easier - at first. Because Emma is a perfectionist, and one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth, if not /the/ apex tepe. Once the Raptors are live, she focuses hard, extending her power to give other animals their signatures, even the bugs. Fortunately Pris has a good feel for the raptors, but there's a lot more life-signs all around her, in fact the jungle is /teeming/ with life signatures all around them.
The raptors are canny hunters, the alpha comes up the middle flanked by what is likely a mate, and a raptor that's actually bigger than she is at that, the other two pair try to flank from both sides of Hisako as she charges forward. Now, these are powerful animals, Hisako's armor strong, and both of them fast.
Hisako is doing her best not to assume or presume anything, but the fact that she and Priscilla are in this exercise together tells her, at the very least, that Emma's adoptive daughter can take care of herself. Just what powers she has, Hisako won't try to judge until she can see them in action … but the speed with which she zips around the simulated jungle does tell her a little bit about what to expect.
Not that Armor is a slouch in the speed department herself; if she scales up her armor, she can cover a city block with a couple of strides, and she moves with something very close to the speed of thought in hand-to-hand. So when the raptors close in on her, she lashes out, practically doing an arm lariat on the pair who came at her from the side away from Pris.
Really, for all that the foliage cuts down on visibility, it's a *blessing* in that it makes a silent approach much harder at ground level.
And then out of the foliage comes the rushing form of Priscilla. But her arm is … not human. Sorry, there's just no better to way to describe that vicious exoskeletal claw, as it swipes out and severs a tendon at the digitigrade rear-faced ankle of one of the raptors. Then she pirrhouettes - seriously, she literally spins a dance move - and swipes the same claw up through the throat of a second raptor.
Because raptors don't attack alone. And here they come!
The Raptors are strong animals, but really, they are not really a match for Pris or Armor, not individually at least. The two that Armor smacks are bowled over, and then scrabble to their feet, and zip off again to circle in from another vecto. The one that Pris slices the tendon of shrieks in rage fueled by the pain. With Emma's mental illusions and projections, the emotional overtones are very real, this is SO immersive with her augmented efforts.
The throat sliced one goes down, this leaves two to attack, both slamming into Armor's exofield with the impact of nigh a eight hundred pounds of predator, focused onto narrow claws about the size of a sickle blade.
That's actually enough force to make Armor stagger - but it doesn't do enough to bowl her oer, and those claws are simply *NOT* going to pierce the barrier around her. Not unless her concentration wavers.
She has a great deal of incentive to make SURE her concentration doesn't waver.
Armor rallies, regaining her balance and grabbing the raptor-droid by its neck, bodily lifting it up as her armor shifts from a yellowish hue to a shade more distinctly red …
And then the raptor goes flying, as if hearkening forward to its evolutionary descendants, the birds of the present day. Except upside-down, backwards, and with considerably greater speed, force, or momentum than any pair of wings could ever give a body of that mass. Thank Armor's throwing strength for that.
And then as more raptors come in towards Armor, who has now taken more time with a single opponent and given them an opening, the speedily swift purple form of Priscilla comes zipping out of the brush again. She has to dance a bit more with these two than the last, as they are not stupid creatures and have realized she is more of a threat, but even so, she eventually weaves between them and that Gieger-esque claw takes out a tendon, and then follows up by drawing the other raptor until it trips over its fallen comrade, leaving a perfect opening for Armor, who should be done with her latest fastball special and looking for a reload.
The raptor that Hisako sends flying impacts a tree about the thickness of a Redwood, it doesn't have pretty results, nope. Not at all, especially with Emma adding realistic gore to replace the burst wiring and sparks. It does indeed leave her open to being attacked by the other two that had been circling around, and it is right after Pris tendons one and tumbles the other that the Alpha pounces at Pris with a roar, both feet attempting to savage the alien hunting ninja stripper with those huge tearing claws.
So now Armor has to choose—protect Pris, or take out the downed foes. Should be a very easy choice to peg!
It really isn't much of a choice - and if either Emma or Priscilla thought it would give the Japanese girl pause, they've sorely underestimated *something* about her.
One raptor eliminated, a couple more down but not quite out, and the last one not only on its feet but pouncing? It's that last one which Armor meets, and bodily so - throwing herself, still fully armored, straight at the leaping velociraptor, and leading with an outstretched hand to grab for the raptor's throat. If she misses the neck, it'll still have to go through *her* to get to Pris …
And unless these drones-acting-as-raptors are built from adamantium? They're *NOT* getting through Hisako's armor, let alone the mutant herself.
And when Armor intercepts the last attacker, Priscilla is freed to pivot from aiming upward and out - towards that incoming attacker - toward the one she tripped with its crippled friend, slashing out both tendons to keep it down and disabled before she walks away. In a real fight, she would put the creatures out of their misery rather than torture them, but the more damage she does the more that must be repaired, so she stops where she is, turning to glance at the control room window at her mother.
Armor's body block is quite effective, the Raptor Alpha actually /biting/ her hand as the girl goes for the neck grab. A head grab is just as effective, more so really in some very unpleasant ways for the beastie. The instant that Pris disables her last foe, the lights come up, the illusions fade, though the bulk of the scenery is real, and a voice from overhead announces. "Simulation Complete."
Emma smiles as she steps into the sim with her friend and her daughter. "So…what do you think? I /did/ cheat a bit to make it a tad more real." And /how/ she did! The gore was very real, even to the point of the death stink…all of which fades immediately when she stops projecting. Firmly. "Well done, ladies. Very well done indeed."
Priscilla smiles, as her forearm and hand shifts and morphs back to normal, as she shakes it out a bit. "Pretty good." she offers, nodding to Armor. "I like that ability. Very cool. And you're still all clean." Pris needs a bit of a shower, now.
It probably helps that Hisako's armor also tends to keep smells out, or at least ameliorates the heck out of them (even when she's letting air get through). She can, however, *see* whatever gore Emma was projecting as a visual effect - at least until the simulation ends, both electronic and psionic.
"I think it's a very good thing you're one of the good guys, Ms. Frost," she replies to the school's headmistress. Whatever unintended sting may accompany her words, though, the smile which accompanies them is genuine enough to defuse it. "I'm impressed by the facility, and I feel sorry for any bad guys that try to hack their way through *this* when you've got it loaded for bear."
She pauses, almost as if centering herself, then de-armors, letting out a breath. She did get worked up enough that she needs to consciously calm back down … and in spite of Priscilla's observation, Hisako *did* work up a little bit of a sweat. Not so much as to be unpresentable in public, but she *was* moving physically within her armor.
"Well, if not 'good' at least not a villain." Emma says with a faint smile. Not a villain /anymore/ implicit, though not stated. This is her daughter (biased) and a friend (also biased) so Emma is being a tad more forthcoming than she would with most. A lot more, really.
Knowing Pris as well as she does, Emma is pleased with the 'Pretty Good', girl has high standards so that's a lovely compliment.
A soft laugh at the condolences from Hisako. "Oh yes. We can field quite a few semi-autonomous drones and there's quite a few weapons emplacements as well, attacking this building is unwise." A single nod. "Possibly worse." A moment to note the condition of the girls' clothing, and noting her own condition after the work out in the park, and Emma smiles. "Hisako, would you care to clean up? I'm sure we can find you clothing to wear, personally I feel a bit grungy after the Tai Chi class and wouldn't mind a change of clothes."
"It would be part of taking stock of your facilities," Hisako says with a wry smile, "and I *could* use the freshening-up at this point."
She pauses, partly making sure Pris has reverted her hands to human-normal or close, before offering the other girl a fistbump. "You're impressive too, 'Prissy Kitten,'" Hisako smiles, maybe teasing a little about the playlist she heard being cued up. "I'd hope you don't have to fight often, but you're good at it."
Priscilla pirohettes and then extends her hand, smiling. "Thank you." She's not going to get into explaining 'alien-hunting stripper ninja' right now, but it's nice to be appreciated, especially from a clearly trained professional. "My name, before I was adopted, was 'Kitaen.' So Catseye - Sharon - decided 'Prissy Kitten' was my nickname." There is a depth of fondness and adoration in her tone of voice that is deep and abiding; she loves her new family, as odd as it may be being part of one. "I sometimes have to fight more often than I would like. It seems Emma has made herself a target for some of those better punted in the head." Or left to bleed out in a ditch. Rar.
Pris leads the way to the control room, so that they can then take the shorter hallway to the locker rooms. "Emma has plenty of top-end products available, so you won't have to deal with dish detergent for shampoo." she teases, with a tone that says she has actually done that before. Clearly an interesting life she led before this family. "If you have questions about the academics, here, I know Emma would love to tell you more."
"Excellent." Emma orders some clothing as they make their way to the showers, guestimating Hisako's sizes and then confirming with a peek into her head. One nice thing about being wealthy, influential /and/ a legendary clotheshorse - she has pull and can get even high end, as these garments are, clothing on very short notice, and delivered by courier in a shockingly short amount of time.
Poor Hisako is going to find herself with a new, very modest and demure, outfit to wear that's probably more expensive than she's ever owned. Top notch quality of course, coture if not haute coture.
Emma can't help but smile at the story about the origins of the Prissy Kitten nickname. Equally as plain is Emma's deep devotion to her daughters, both of them. A nod to confirm what Pris says about the fighting.
She smiles as they enter the locker room, Emma hugging her daughter a moment as they enter. She can't help but shudder at the need for using dish soap as shampoo, she's done something similar herself.
Once they're cleaned up, the tour will continue and Emma will indeed offer Hisako guidance about her academics, describing several programs, financial aid options, and the best way to get her credits transferred all over a very nice meal cooked by her personal chef, because…why not? Emma IS filthy rich, Pris is surely feeling a mite spoiled by the luxury. Emma? Emma figures they've all paid their dues - Emma, Pris, and Hisako, so why not?