Roaming the Halls

Posted on Sat Sep 9th, 2023 @ 10:40 by Robert Closeley & Alistair Quill & Shauna Murphy & Catriona Reid

Chapter: All Hallow's Eve
Location: Avalon Institute, Student Dorms
Timeline: 00:15 Monday November 1st, 1992
2277 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The door into the hallway swung open. The air was buzzing with energy. The surge they had triggered had washed over a large swathe of Scotland and it was abundantly clear that it still charged the air inside Avalon institute. Robert slowly stepped inside. His inner eye fully opened now to see what could only be described as auras of power, emanating from the students packed into these halls. A proper feast for someone like him. Normally he'd have to touch in order to draw the powers from his fellow mutants, it also helped if the recipient was willing. Not necessary, but not unpleasant either. Now it seemed that the eb and flow of the mutant abilities around him longed to be a part of him. Longed to flow into him.

He knew it was his destiny guiding him. The fabric of the universe recognising the greatness he was headed towards and latching onto him. He extended his hands to the sides, towards the doors of the first bedrooms. Two kids per bedroom. It was like taking candy from a baby. He smiled to himself thinking of how it would probably be more difficult to wrest control of sweets from an infant than what he was doing now. With every heartbeat he felt his power swell within him.

With every step he took, several more fell unbidden, closely behind. Shauna typically didn't believe in serendipity, trusting a great deal more in her own guile than the twisted machinations of fate and luck combined. In this case, she might have begrudgingly admitted that frivolous strolls around the loch didn't always prove to be a futile waste of time, not when the distance from the Institute had resulted in ample time to adjust to a sudden acceleration in power before the pressure to utilise her newfound control presented itself. She would have preferred to be alone but, at the very least, having company was proof enough that the scope of her abilities hadn't abated any. She wasn't a huge fan of the fact that it seemed necessary for the pair of them to breathe down her neck in order to remain out of perception's range but the mutant was resolved to tolerate anything if it allowed her to explore previously-unattainable precision. It wasn't just a visual effect, the trio had moved in deafening silence since crossing paths with someone that couldn't have appeared more out of place if he'd donned a t-shirt labelled 'Threat'. It was eerie enough before you considered that one of them was currently transformed into an apex predator.

There was no need to take too many risks, however, and so even as they stalked behind the self-congratulatory trespasser, Shauna cautioned a pause to crouch and evaluate with a wave of her hand.

Catriona blinked at the scene and rolled her eyes in cat form. She was a hunter and fully capable of stalking and evaluating without assistance even if the person they were staking seemed to be more powerful than they all were together. It was a crazy amount of power all in one person.

Ever since that odd wave had washed over them Alistair hadn't felt completely at ease in his own body. Limbs seemed to lengthen on their own, muscle mass grew and fell, tattoos swirled all over his skin. It was giving him a sense of vertigo even when standing still on solid ground. It was because of this that he missed a raise in one of the flagstones and hit the ground hard.

The mysterious man that was stalking the students' dorms had been allowing a crackle of electric energy to arc around his arm. It was building the air with electricity. Hairs standing on end. He arced a bolt of lightning towards the lights in the ceiling, shorting out the circuit.

Robert came to a standstill in front of a door. "Well now." He stepped up towards the door. "This'll certainly be helpful."

The count of ten that accompanied Shauna's closed eyes was an impressive show of restraint for once. Certainly the dull thud of impact behind her, whilst masked by the radius of her own powers, was enough to shattered whatever resolve she had for doing this as part of a group. Catriona would be fine on her own, and Alistair likely would too, if the boy could sort his limbs out for once. The trouble was, whilst she was stubborn and typically not the type to ask for help, Shauna also wasn't stupid. This mutant, so far, had demonstrated power that wasn't going to be easily matched in terms of full-frontal assault. Stopping him wasn't so much the priority as just getting the others out of his path, which was going to be easier said than done with him standing directly in the doorway. Shauna craned her head around to frown at Catriona. They needed a distraction, enough at least for Shauna to get inside and attempt to sneak everyone out.

Catriona looked back and understood what was needed. She nodded and leapt forward as a leopard and growled in the direction of Robert. It would not cause much of a distraction for long just stood there growling but it was the shock factor she needed.

As the panther appeared Robert turned to face the creature. At first he seemed apprehensive, taking a step away from the door that he had left ajar. Then there was a moment of realisation in his eyes. "Nice." He extended his hand and an energy exchanged between the panther and himself. He cracked his neck once the short moment of esoteric connection was broken. Then, a bit awkwardly at first, his form started to shift. It didn't take long before a massive lion stood in front of Catriona. Luscious manes around its impressive snout. After a moment he let out an enormous roar in the direction of the younger and smaller feline.

Catriona did not even flinch at the larger felines appearance nor roar. Leopards were the ultimate cats. They were the most feline, the most intelligent and the most dangerous and the teenager with the better experience in her cat form would be formidable in leading a chase. She swiped at the lion hitting his nose before she leapt past him and took off.

Robert the lionheart turned to follow and saw how fast and nimble the other creature took off. After a couple of strides he suppressed what he could only assume were his feline instincts and turned back. He didn't need anything from her, he already got her powers. He remembered what had attracted him to the room he was in front of in the first place and turned back around. With every step turning back to the human form he had. The door was now wide open, which gave him pause, because he most certainly hadn't opened it.

Inside the room, crouched close to the chest of drawers closest to the door, Shauna held a finger to her lips as a caution to the pair of bug-eyed first years she'd almost managed to evacuate. There had been no stringent testing of what she had come to suspect her elevated potency was capable of but, as the suspicious mutant made his way into the room, there was very little option but to put her theories to the test. Aware that Alistair was stranded near the beds and conscious that movement away from him would eventually remove any invisibility effect, the redhead tossed him what might have astonished most to realise was an apologetic glance and started to edge her way, children in tow, towards the vacant doorway.

Something about the room was unsettling Robert. Like he was being watched. An uneasy energy tugging at his peripheral vision. He stood in the centre of the room when all of a sudden he felt a massive blow to his ribs. Out of nowhere a lanky young man stood in front of him. The punch he had thrown had come from a bulky muscular arm that would put the Terminator to shame. It took a moment to register before he grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. "Brave." He took in a deep breath and the powers coursed through his veins. Then he focused them on his own torso, instantly building muscle. The strain on his body was significant.

"Unpleasant, huh?" Alistair grew the muscle density in his arms and punched both forward into his chest, sending him staggering back. It took a moment for him to regain his footing. His heart pounding loudly in his chest. Adrenalin coursing through him. This was going to be a massive crash if it faded.

Another breath, muscle building in Robert's legs, near instantaneous. His jeans tightening around the bulk of his muscle. With a forward kick to the chest he sent Alistair flying up against the wall. "Get out of my way." He turned to get back into the corridor. Whatever the kid had done to get the people out of the room, he was sure they couldn't have gotten far. "Where are your friends?" These weren't the abilities that had drawn him into the room. As he stepped into the corridor he was blindsided by a leopard.

Catriona bounded in front of Alistair and swiped at the man colliding with his arm instead of anything more substantial before she shifted back her claws still drained. “They are far gone.” Catriona said simply. “And if you do not leave several people are going to turn up to kick your ass.”

"That was a mistake." Robert threw a bolt of lightning in the direction of the two young mutants that were in the room with him. He made sure it wouldn't be lethal, but it wasn't going to be pleasant for either of them. As he held them down with a continued shock, as if a taser was shocking them, as he backed out of the room. He felt his eye twitch as the electricity wavered. He had been engorging himself on all these new abilities and switching between them freely. It was clearly reaching a limit. He reinforced himself before building his leg muscles beyond their natural limit, then with a single bound he jumped out of the hallway through the long window facing the courtyard.

Alistair still lay twitching on the ground, he could barely control his muscles to stop twitching. "Who the hell was that?" He asked out loud to nobody in particular before dusting himself off and sitting upright.

"A problem," Shauna responded from the doorway. She was alone, which gave ample credence to the supposition that she'd delivered the younger mutants to safety and actually returned to assist. It wasn't in her nature to turn from a fight, however, and whilst she didn't have the fighting prowess of her two companions, Shauna had already determined that it was about time she did something about that. Stealth was all well and good but there came a point where being able to capitalise on it was far more appealing. "You all right?," she asked with uncharacteristic concern, extending a hand to Alistair.

Catriona found herself sprawled on her side, her body contorted in a painful response to the jolts of electricity that had surged through her. The agony had momentarily held her captive, rendering her helpless against its power. Her eyes squeezed shut, teeth gritted, and she winced, trying to bear the assault on her senses, it was hard went her senses were so much stronger. After what felt like an eternity, the relentless currents finally subsided, allowing Catriona to regain control of her muscles. With a stifled groan, she summoned the strength to roll onto her back. The relief washed over her as she lay there for a moment, catching her breath and letting her racing heart settle. "I will be okay once I can stop twitching."

Alistair stood, still shaking. He knew exactly what Catriona meant. He needed a moment to gather himself. "We need to check if everyone is alright." He bulked up his muscles and stepped towards the hallway, still a bit unsteady on his feet but no hesitation of wanting to be there for his friends and the younger kids. They had no idea why the man had suddenly left, or where he had gone, but the sounds coming from outside through the hole in the wall didn't sound all too promising. He looked back over his shoulder to check if the other two were with him.

Catriona nodded and shifted to her leopard. It was easier to hide discomfort and pain in leopard form but she would also be a lot more a deterrent if the man came back. She padded across the floor to Alistair and nudged his hand before moving in front of him.

Having moved back to the doorway, Shauna placed both hands on the frame and peered out into the corridor. "Cavendish's fancy new emergency protocols listed the cafeteria as a shelter-in-place, we need to get everyone down there. The others are locked in the study hall." Pulling back inside, she turned to the others and, in typical fashion, took charge without a single consideration for it being negotiable. "Catriona, go get them and make sure they get to the infirmary. We can finish sweeping up here and meet you there." She blinked out of perception for a moment, only to re-emerge as an impatient head poked around the open door from the other side, as if she'd doubled back after noticing she was still alone.

An eyebrow arched.

"Today would be a good time to start."