Log:Rats on Campus, Scene 1

Rats on Campus 2020/05/08 	 Amelia Felix Jamie Moonshadow Phantom Riptide Wade Barnabas Bighead 1

It's a clear Friday evening, after a warm day. And students are doing what students do after a long week's work. At one of the dorms, there's thumping music indicative of a big party.

It is what it is. Campus LIFE! Okay, so it's Grad School for Jamie, but school is school, and she is still enjoying dorm life. Okay, more to the point, she is so focused on her studies that she pretty much ignores things like... getting an apartment or whatnot.

Either way, she is on campus more often than not. Consumed by her archaeological studies for school, her private studies trying to find -anything- relating to the extinct Xyrathians in other worldwide hiding places... and helping teach classes. Her life basically revolves around that and... communing with the relic to try to learn from the Xyrathian database. But why is she on campus? A better question is why would she be -off- campus?

Today, she has discovered, again... much to her chagrin, that she hasn't had a thing to eat since a bagel for breakfast. So she's stepped out to find a bite somewhere... meanwhile, trying to keep her little relic mote concealed in a backpack.

Riptide, meanwhile, was on patrol. He had good reason to be off this way with the recent Next Generation activities, and is currently perched up on the outside of the campus itself towards the north. He was currently on the look out for strange vehicles at the most, and at the worst... guys with overgrown weaponry they shouldn't have possibly hanging around. Otherwise, he was just sitting up on a rooftop and sipping at a shake as he took on stake out duties.

Wade is done with a day of work at Starguard, and since he lives nearby, the campus is a nice place to jog once in a while. He also has access to the gym as alumni, but today, he's out jogging on campus. He has some burn marks on his legs which are healing, but he's working out, all the same.

Amelia has been discussing a donation to CBSU for the purpose of starting a department of arcane studies. Early days, and there's some resistance from the less open minded of the senior faculty. In fact she had to call for a break and walk out to get air, and cool down, after being told 'there's no such thing as magic. It's all deception and deceit.

Phantom and Felix are on top of building next to the dorm. They originally came to the campus to try to find someone they're looking for but haven't had much luck. The people watching is great from up here though and they are chatting mentally while Phantom astrally projects in search of their quarry.

<> gripes Felix over the mind link to Phantom.

Phantom's body is dormant with eyes closed by Felix. His astral self is floating through the school, looking around for a person that fits the picture of the CBSU student on Next Gen's list. <&lt;I'd have given you detention for that joke>> Phantom jokes, able to listen and see into the material plane as he floats.

Amelia is on the other side of the quad from the noisy party holding dorm. She's looking for some calm.

Phantom circles back to his body, floating back into it and opening his eyes as his physical body rouses. <>

Laurel has just finished a class in the Lecture Hall and is passing through the quad on her way back to Old Town. She appears in her usual black jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket.

Screams coming from a party are not all that unusual. But these screams, masked though they are by the music, don't sound like the good sort. And there are a lot of them.

Should I get chinese or pizza? Chinese or pizza? I wonder if they have a beef and broccoli pizza. Nah, that'd be... huh? Jamie pauses to turn her head towards the sound of the screams. "Hazing? No. Party sound? No..." and she shakes her head. The mote flits out from her backpack and she nods, "I agree. Let's go investigate." And she flickers in a seemingly random oscillation of colors before vanishing and translocating to right by the doorway inside before peering around the doorframe.

<> asks Felix and he steps over to Phantom and offers what seems to be a hug. In preparation, Phaontom knows from paste xpeierince is actually an offer to leap with Felix over towards the dorm.

Riptide finishes his drink, hopping down to the ground to toss it into a trash can before starting to wander the campus. More or less in plain view, and apparently looking around. Security might have a field day with that one.

Phantom grabs ahold of Felix to hang on tight. "Let's go check it out."

The party is, or was, centred on the ground floor common room of the dorm. The scene Jamie glimpses, though, makes little sense. Some people are running away in various directions. Others are grabbing makeshift weapons and going other directions. One guy has found a fire axe and is advancing on another guy.

"Whoa!" cries Jamie as she rushes through the door, "What in the world is going on?!" She is prepared to use deflection should the need arise, or to throw herself in the way of some sort of attack. Her little glowing relic floats about her, peering over one shoulder and glowing a golden color that indicates alarm as Jamie's current emotional state.

Wade is blissfully unaware as he continues jogging through campus, trying to fight throught he pain of the burns he received while in Iceland. He slows to a walk to stretch his legs out on a bench.

The guy with the axe takes a swing at the one he was advancing on, aiming for the neck!

Felix makes sure Phantom's holding tight, clicks his cricket clicker, then jumps down to the ground near the front of the dorm. He lands lightly, flexing his knees a bit and looks towards the front entrance.

Amelia catches sight of movement. Turns and looks. "Oh, hello, Mr Lockwood. Having a problem?"

Laurel hears the screaming. . o O (That is definitely not good). She drops her illusion and flies to dorm in question.

The other guy, white as a sheet, backs away just in time.

Wade looks over in Amelia's direction. "Umm...just some mild pain. It'll heal in a few days. I got burned in a lagoon that got too hot."

And then comes the gunshot. Everyone hears that. even over the music.

Amelia tuts, "Really, Mr Lockwood. I didn't open a free clinic for my personal enjoyment. Notice the word free? Stay there for a moment and I'll heal those 'it's not too nad' injuries."

Wade shrugs, "I was already treated by EMTs." He hears the gunshot and turns his head, "WAs that a gun? Or a car?"

Amelia says, "That sounded very much like a gunshot."

Phantom grips a little tighter to Felix as they jump. He can't fly or jump, so he depends on trusting Felix to get him to ground. There's plenty of people around for his psionic powers to create a visual of the chaotic scene. Phantom can, for the most part, function as a sighted person can. "Shick, they've gone nuts," he says as he turns his head towards the window. He runs for the door to get inside, then focuses on trying to shut down his mind. "You, stop what you're doing!"

The guy freezes up even as he's beginning to raise the axe for another swing!

Moonshadow hears the gunshot and flies up, looking for the source

Moonshadow doesn't spot the shooter, but can tell that the shot came from one of a few specific windows.

Amelia :quickly says to Wade, "Unless you run really fast, hold a moment. I'll teleport you there."

Wade nods, "Sure, I can wait. I could run it in a few seconds, I think, but I can wait a moment for you to teleport us.

Amelia rests a hand on Wade's shoulder and teleports both Wade and herself to the door of the dorm.

Wade pauses to take things in, and try to figure out what's going on before charging in.

Yhere aren't actually that many people left in the room: most have already fled. One guy is frozen like a statue, holding an axe. The other people who remain are largely near the food and drink table, where weapons (albeit sometimes just knives or forks!) are to be found. Some people have bottles. Everyone looks frightened of everyone else.

Wade steps in and puts his hands up, palms outward, "Everyone, please put your weapons down! There's no need for anyone to get hurt!"

Wade gets no more attention than did Jamie.

Seeing the axe guy freeze when someone yells stop, Jamie does some mental math, adds two and two and doesn't get five. She nods her head and turns to rush towards the stairs. The relic floats about her and carries her a bit faster than normal walking speed. In fact, her feet leave the ground, and there's a mild indigo glow about her as she reaches the stairwell and rushes to the top, slowing to try to orient herself. She has no idea -precisely- where the gunshot came from, but she can try to figure that out.

Jamie doesn't see a shooter, but dies see a girl lying in the corridor in a pool of blood....

Seeing the girl lying there, Jamie screams out, "HELP! SOMEONE IS SHOT UP HERE!"

Felix follows Phantom into the dorm and is reaching into his tactical backpack as he hears someone scream about someone being shot. He audibly sighs as he states over the mind link to Phantom <> as he turns and runs full out for the stairs and up them.

<&lt;I got this>> Phantom replies to Felix. <>

Phantom explains over to Wade, "The guy with the axe is stuck in place for now. He can't let go of the axe, but he won't swing it for now, either."

Felix spots the coed int eh small pool of blood with the other young woman with the glowy spark over her shoulder. To Jamie, he says, "Excuse me, need some room," in a gruff tone of voice as he reaches into his tactical backpack for something.

Riptide looks up at the sound of the gunshot, trying to pinpoint it before he hops over towards the place all the metas seem to be gathering. Seeing Amelia, Riptide heads over towards her. "Amelia? What's going on over here?"

Inside, various partygoers start attack one another - one with a knife, one with a fork, one breaking a bottle over someone else's head...

Wounds are only minor so far... the guy hit by the bottle must have a thick skull....

The guy who was attacked with the axe tears the axe from from his paralysed attacker - and raises it as if to strike him!

Upstairs, a head and a gun pop out of a dorm room door. "DIE, ZOMBIE!" yells the guy, firing at the person who shouted - i.e. Jamie.

Riptide, seeing the attack of an axe on a person out of the corner of his eye, suddenly rushes off without waiting for an answer. And gets right in the way of the axe. That... well... does nothing to him. Not even causing him to bleed. And it nailed him right in the exposed arm he had up, too. The teen looks at the new axe wielder, and says simply, "Put it down."

The bullet passes Jamie's ear by a hair's breadth.

As a part of Jamie's defense is not so much her agility, but.. her relic deflecting attacks, this bullet zings near and is caught by a deflector shield at the last moment, making it sizzle past her ear. And she just blinks, turning her head towards the guy, "Zombie?" she asks incredulously.

From the sounds, similar scenes are going on in other rooms of the dorm...

"They eat brains, you know," mutters Felix as he takes a first aid kit out, his attention on the girl on the ground. "Can stop the shooter, please?"

Wade furrows his brow and looks around for the source of what's clawing at his mind, checking near the door.

Phantom starts to back away from the others and towards the door. "Wait...no...!" he plays along as he senses the tiny culprit. He bumps up against the wall, the back of his sneaker blocking the entire little hole in the wall...and the big-brained rat's view of everyone. In his veiled mindlink, he warns Evan <>

Moonshadow hears a second shot and speeds into action! She flies to the correct window and targets the shooter within with a Moonbeam

The shooter is struck, flies out the door and across the corridor, slams into the wall opposite, and crumples to the ground.

Wade goes to help disarm some of hte people in the room, since it looks like everyone's affected by the same thing.

Felix notes the shooter getting hit by the blast of light and slammed into the wall by the force of it. He grunts as he mutters, "Well, at least he's close by..."

Wade quickly disarms a couple of hte party goers by the food table, and the weapons drop to the floor. "Fight it. Just settle down.

Amelia moves a couple of steps to the door of the room where the party was being held. Pulling a small blue glowing orb fro a belt pouch she holds it in the air and speaks a word in Latin. The orb flies into the room to the middle of the area and splits into multiple smaller orbs that seek out individuals. Any people hit are enveloped in a blue glow holding them in place.

Phantom waves to the people that don't seem affected over, then points back at the wall behind his shoe. He mouths the words 'I found something'. He's still waiting to see if there's anyone he may need to help knock back to their senses.

Gasping at Moonshadow's attack, Jamie flickers and appears at the side of the shooter who is now bleeding out. She shoves the weapon away and says, "Restraint! These aren't supervillains, they're coeds!" and then she yells at the top of her lungs, "MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC!" and she -tries- to help the person (boy or girl?)

Amelia is already turning to head upstairs as the homing orbs reach nine of the rooms occupants and locks them unmoving in magical bonds of glowing blue energy.

Crouching down, Jamie plucks up a piece of cloth. A part of a discarded shirt. It may be dirty, but for now it's the best she has. She presses it to the wound and applies pressure. "Easy there. I've got you." she remarks.

Felix opens the first aid kit and a golden glow rises from it and suffuses the dark clad man. With a glance over at Jamie and the kid she's helping, Felix says in a voice overlapping with antothers, states, "You have him in hand. I will aid in a moment." He lays his now flwing hands on the shot coed at his feet as he says, "Rest, little one, I shall take care of you."

Felix's hand tranfer the golden light from himself to the wounded coed. Her most serious wounds visibly close and her breathing eases as the light drains from Felix. He shudders for a moment then calls over to Jamie, "I'll be right there, this fem's stable now." His toice is back to it's normal gruffness.

Glaring over towards Phantom, Riptide turns back and grabs the axe out of the guy's hands. Literally just ripping it free before turning to look at Phantom. "Well, /do/ something, already." He keeps the axe in hand juuust in case.

Phantom rolls his pure white eyes and sighs in exasperation at Riptide. He was blocking the psychic rat from affecting anyone, but fine. He moves his foot out of the way to spy down at the rat with his clairvoyent senses without having to look directly at it. His foot moved reveals the big brained rat hiding in the hole. Which he then tries to deceive into thinking the foot moved out of the way because Phantom just fell sideways, dead, to reveal a room with all the humans are dead, having killed each other. It's now safe to come out.

Bighead, realising his attempt to get the heroes in on the zombie-killing fun has failed, teleports away.

Phantom's shoulders sag as he senses Bighead suddenly cease to occupy space in the wall. He rubs his face so hard. "What the shick...." he grumbles, then complains mentally to Felix. <&lt;I couldn't even trick a rat with a big tiny brain! What gives!?>> He lowers his hand and with a suffering grumble, he points towards Fork-wielder and gripes, "Stop that!"

<> mutters Felix in snarky mental tone. <&lt;I've got another puplet to help...>>

Moonshadow calls through the windoe, "Are there any more?"

A couple of windows d0wn from Moonshadow, a window opens.

"Check the rooms. But don't attack anyone! God, coeds can't take serious hits!" she yells.

Amelia calls back to Phantom and Riptide, "Be careful. There's a mentalist somewhere who's doing this. Someone with good movement should check out the alarm I can hear. I'll be upstairs. Someone said there's a shooting victim up there." With that she flies up the stairs, "Who's hurt?" she asks enroute. Although the sight to blood and downed people is a bit of a give away. Coming to a halt she lifts her arms to let a host of butterflies swarm out and flutter over to apply healing touches.

A cloud of brightly hued buttlerflies emerge from Amelia's large sleeves and fly over to land with featherlight touch on the woulded where they meld into the people transfusing health.

Felix thanks Amelia. "Thanks for the aid, Ms Steinberg, I think these two are stabiltized." He stands as he puts away the first aid kit. "I'm gonna check to see if the nuplets up here aer all right." He goes to kncok on doors and check on people.

The first couple of doors remain locked. The third opens to reveal someone with a hockey stick...

"If you hit me with that, I'm gonna kick you in the joint, puplet!" shouts Felix at the hockey stick wielding undergrad.

Alas, the student hears only "braainnns....".