Nothing's Improbable: Assemble

[Westbrook Academy]

This was it. After weeks and weeks of testing, he had finally perfected the device. It hadn't been easy. Making the transfer permanent took several tries. But with the last test, he had done it.

Now it was time to strike. The plan was simple.

Find a classroom full of students, not hard on a Monday morning. Wait until just after 8 AM and the classrooms should be packed. Pop into the middle of them.

He checked the settings on his trans-dimensional warper. The last thing he wanted was to teleport into a wall or so far on the other side of his target he had to try again.

Use his new device. Sure the last couple designs had been shaped like a pistol, point and click. For this though, he needed maximum coverage in minimum time. This would do nicely. He tucked it into his jacket pocket.

Pop back out before anyone could react. And with a whole new set of abilities all his own. Finally people would remember his name.

He looked at the clock. 7:50. It was time. He boarded the bus heading for his target, smiling. This would be the last time he had to take the bus for anything. No one gave him a second look. An average-looking man in a suit didn't attract much attention in a city of capes.

When the bus pulled to a stop just down the street from the beautifully landscaped campus, he stepped off. He checked his watch again. 8:15. Right on time. Checking that the coast was clear, he pressed the coordinates into his trans-dimensional warper and popped out of sight.

Find a classroom full of students. When he popped back, it was to an empty science lab. That didn't make sense. There should be students here. The plan depended on students supplying the powers. He quickly punched in a couple new coordinates. Another empty classroom, not even a backpack in sight. He tried again. A new classroom, the same result.

His heartrate jumped, despite his best efforts to keep calm. This couldn’t possibly be. There wasn’t a holiday. The school wasn’t closed for a break. So where were the students and their perfectly available powers?

Going completely against plan, he stepped into the hall, craning his neck to search down both sides. It seemed the entire building was silent. No teachers. No students. Not even a janitor. A bulletin board across from him caught his attention. Posters for Homecoming, sign up sheets for mid-term study groups, an ad by someone looking to sell an old guitar for some extra cash.

And a bulletin. An assembly, Monday morning. In the theatre. Attendance mandatory.

A slow smile spread across his face as he began entering new coordinates.

New plan.

[Westbrook Academy]

Mr. Maximilian listened as Herrera went on about the importance of appropriate conduct. He was only half paying attention while daydreaming about the intersecting of ley lines and how they could be used to boost the power of certain warding spells. Perhaps he would talk to Herrera about setting up a field trip for his more advanced students. If they took this lecture to heart.

“... and furthermore, you represent more than your average teenager. You have special gifts which make you stand out from any ordinary teen. If you don’t have the responsibility and conduct to carry yourself in an appropriate manner, then how can... you...” Mr. Herrera trailed off. Joe popped out of his reverie quickly. It was unlike Mr. Herrera to do that. He followed Louis’ gaze to the center aisle where a man in a business suit walked quietly toward the stage stopping at about the half way point.

“Who are you? You’re not supposed to be here,” Mr. Herrera demanded. Joe tensed up. Something was very wrong with this picture.

The man simply smiled and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a metal cylinder, about a foot long. “I’m here to relieve you of some burdens.”

Time seemed to slow down at that point for Mr. Maximillian. As the man in the suit raised the cylinder over his head, starting to bring the end of it down to slam on the floor, Joe was up on his feet, already chanting in Latin, digging deep into the magic that coursed through his veins. The air in front of the stage shimmered and coalesced, forming a shield to protect the faculty. Unless he was wrong, this was the source of the power disappearances they had been investigating over the last month.

Next to him, Joe felt a couple faculty begin to rise to their feet. Herrera was moving around the podium just as slowly. Joe began going through his knowledge of the students and their powers. Protect the ones that wouldn’t make it without them. Jessie Sullivan, Mike Nelson, Kyle Baskers, Milo Black... wait he was still in isolation. Move on to the next student.

Already the end of the device had made contact with the floor, bright energy spreading out from the top of it. Students nearest the center aisle scrambled, some towards the man, some away. None were successful in their pursuit. As the wave of energy washed over them, they sank to their seats, dazed and bewildered. Wings disappeared, fires were extinguished, spells snuffed out before they could take effect.

The priority students were safe. Now to reverse what was happening. The wave from the device slammed into the shield in front of Joe as she moved up next to Herrera, still chanting. A blue light began to build around the device in the man’s hand. By his expression, he was not prepared for anyone to be fighting back. He grabbed for another device on his arm, punching in numbers. The light grew brighter, shaking in place as Joe’s voice grew louder.

Then in a moment no one could have anticipated, the light exploded outward, sending out a shockwave of energy over the auditorium, knocking the already dazed crowd off their feet. The man rolled down the aisle a couple feet, still clutching the cylinder, before punching a button on his wrist device and blinking out of sight.

By the time Herrera and Maximillian got to their feet on the stage, all of thirty seconds had passed. Looking out over the student body, it was thirty seconds that had changed the school. They had their work cut out for them.

[Toxstrike]

Jeanette sat watching Mr. Herrera give his lecture to the school with her arms making an L-shape, her left eye looking directly into the palm of her left hand. She had figured this assembly had to do with the stuff from the last couple weeks, Diya's disappearance, and Wyatt's aborted blowup at the homecoming game. She hadn't been paying attention enough to confirm it though.

Instead her mind wandered to what she thought was Chase dropping his "game face" at the dance Saturday night. She'd figure there'd be at least somebody who'd react to how she looked, but she didn't realize that most of them were probably hiding it as best they could.

Still, her friends dismissed it. Maybe they were right, maybe they were... Mr. Herrera stopped speaking to the students, and Mr. Maximillian was on his feet. She didn't even notice the man in the suit walk in. He must have come in from her left. She was distracted. Nevermind, though, everyone here was trained for this. She got to her feet, and set herself for a jumping tackle to close the distance.

She didn't get to make it. The first wave scrambled her head, kept her grounded. Her focus gone, she had trouble staying on her feet, her hands and arms in front her face, her eyes blurry and half closed. She was totally unprepared for the second wave, which hit like a ton of bricks and tossed her back into her seat.

"Ow..." That hit harder than it should have. Jeanette rubbed her hand over her face, trying to speed her eyes back to focus. It didn't help. She tried again. This time something felt wrong. Her fingers felt different, her skin felt different. There was a weird sensation she didn't have words to explain. Singing maybe, but not really something she heard, but felt.

She blinked a few times, the teachers were just barely back to their feet. Jeanette reached up to rub her shoulder, and she noticed it. Her scales were gone. Her fingers had rounded back to normal. She wanted to scream, but the shock took her voice as her eyes went wide and her mind reeled, the next few moments a blur.

[Faige Harrison]

Faige rolled her eyes at the speech, sinking lower into her seat. She'd already been told to turn her game boy off and pay attention once. Blah blah blah conduct, blah blah blah examples. People just needed to chillax and stop being so worked up over everything.

Then something changed, and "who are you" was uttered. Fae looked up, eyes settling on the man at the front of the assembly beside Mr. Herrera. Something was very wrong here, she stood up in her seat to get a better look. Like the cool individual she was, Fae had been sitting in the very last row of the assembly hall with the rest of her awesome buddies and now that was working to a disadvantage.

As the man in the suit began to speak, Faige was headed toward the aisle-way, a rad ball forming between her hands. The first wave hit her before she could get out of the row of seats and she fell back into an empty seat feeling dazed and bewildered, the small ball of radiation she had formed dissipating into the air. The second wave threw her over the back of the seat and against the wall behind the row seeing as she was in the very back. Rolling over into the seat row again, she shakily stood and looked around. She didn't feel any different in that moment, but now her focus had resettled on what was going on around her. Frantic eyes searching for her friends first, the staff second.

[MASH-1]

Donovan sat in the assembly next to Adam Hunt, who spent a majority of the time quietly heckling Herrera so only a few students around them could hear. Don tried to ignore his roommate, but was failing and now just trying not to laugh aloud. Suddenly, Adam pointed off to the side. "What's with the suit? Someone selling us insurance, cuz our premiums would be murder."

Don just shook his head, his attention now drawn towards the mysterious man. From the way Herrera was reacting and the cold feeling Don was getting, this was clearly not part of the assembly. As the man pulled out the strange cylinder from his coat and slammed it down, Don tensed forward. He didn't know what it was, but it had to be electronic from the looks of it. Maybe he could stop it before it did whatever it was supposed to do.

Before he could move though, the man slammed the end down on the stairs. As the energy erupted from it, Don found himself being pushed down by Adam, who protectively held him to the floor. "Dude, let the adults deal with this." His roommate muttered in his ear, "You don't know what that thing is or what's it'd doing."

"I can handle it." Don argued, pushing Adam off of him. By the time he got back to his feet, the second blast erupted from it, knocking him back down. Something indescribable happened inside of him, like it was both intense and subtle at the same time. All Don could hear was a high-pitched ringing in his ear that he tried to shake off. Eventually it faded and he struggled to get to his feet, alongside the other students. Grabbing the back of his seat to steady himself, he let out a loud hiss as something burned his hand.

It felt like the back of the chair was on fire. The wave must have done something to it. Pushing himself up from the floor, he let out another surprised yelp as it burned him too. But the rest of him was fine though. Experimentally, he touched the cushion of his chair with one finger and winced as another spike of pain shot up his arm while a dancing wisp of smoke rose up. As he pulled his hand away, Don saw a small burn mark in the fabric.

Panic rose in him as Don tried to figure out what was going on. Adam grabbed him carefully by his shoulders and pulled him up. "Dude, are you alright?" Adam asked him. Donovan looked at Adam but before he could reply, Adam stepped back, looking a little alarmed. "Hey man, don't freak out or nothing...but you're eyes are glowing green..."

[Lark Lowell]

Sit up. Back straight. Pay attention or at very least seem like you're paying attention; but today that last part was hard.

Finch had been right. It wasn't that much of a surprise because Cassandra typically was, but, the ramifications were a bit larger than Lark had been expecting. What now? Just... pretend like things hadn't happened that way? Give up several years of careful cultivation? And then what? Who was she then? She considered whether anyone would notice her climbing over to gossip with someone about what to do while they talked about the responsibility of adulthood when the man came in.

Her head snapped over to look at Finch when the man began to speak pointedly before remembering that the trouble was right in front of her and there was enough confusion and emotion to finally find something to grab a hold of and tug. At least, until the first wave. Lark lurched backwards with the mental "snap" and was floored with the second falling back against the seats and stumbling into a little huddle at the bottom.

Lark's heel had been wedged beneath the chair and was stuck too firmly for her shaky hand to free it. That wasn't nearly so much of a problem as the fear. Students were huddling about; running, talking frantically. Teachers were, too. Faces were wide, some people were shouting; she should have felt it. Where was that metal tang in the air? Where was that rush? The voices? It took her another five second to realize she was shaking. Her throat was tight and dry. Her heart was pumping fast.

[Diya Behari]

Over the last week, Diya had sat through enough lectures to last her a lifetime. Maybe Herrera wasn’t calling her out by name, but she was pretty sure she was part of what inspired this particular lecture. Not the only one, but part of it.

So she was tuning it out. She had her phone in her lap, hidden by the seat in front of her, clicking through Youtube videos to find some new stunt to learn. Maybe some mixed martial art-style fighting, something a little rougher than the precise movements of the current crop of martial arts moves in her repertoire. Something a little wild. To counter-act the good-girl routine she was being forced to adopt as the first step towards solving her “problems.” Plus, the fighters were usually pretty hot, and some eye candy always brightened up a dreary Monday morning.

She’d hit play and cringed at the first punch one of the fighters on her small screen threw when she realized Herrera had stopped speaking. She glanced up, half-convinced for an instant this was like being caught slacking off in class and Herrera was just staring at her until she started paying attention to the lecture again. But her glance was enough to tell her that something very weird and very wrong was happening.

“Who are you?” Mr. Herrera was demanding of...someone. From where she was sitting, Diya couldn’t see who he was talking to. But the magic teacher was on his feet in a flash, his face scarily serious.

Diya leaned into Roach, intending to ask him if he could tell what was going on, but a flash of energy interrupted her. She felt pushed back into her seat, and before she could get her legs to cooperate to push herself up, a second force washed over her. If she’d been standing she was sure she would have collapsed - she could see it happening to the people who’d been faster on their feet. They were now knocked down, grabbing on to the arms of chairs, or to each other, to try to remain upright.

Diya glanced down at her phone, relieved to see it still in her lap, video still playing as though nothing had happened. She couldn’t remember how it had started though.

She shivered, suddenly cold. Had one of those energy waves turned off the heat? Maybe someone had tried to freeze whoever had started this? She hadn’t worn her jacket to the assembly, all she had on was a long sleeved shirt and the dorky sweater vest. Thank goodness she wore the trousers with her uniform.

At the front of the theater, teachers were ushering the students out. There were cries of confusion echoing through the theater, making it hard to hear exactly what the teachers were instructing. Diya made a move to stand up, but sunk back quickly in her seat.

Next to Diya, Faige was on her feet, though she looked about as shaky as Diya felt. Noticing Diya still in her seat, Faige looked down with concern. “You okay?”

Diya shook her head a little, partly in response and partly just trying to clear it. “I feel like crap.”

“C’mon, get up,” Faige urged gently, holding out a hand to Diya. Diya slid her phone into her pocket before reaching out to grab Faige’s hand. Faige frowned at the contact. “You feel warm.”

“Really?” Diya shivered again. She started to shuffle along the row as the aisle cleared enough for them to start moving out. In front of her, Roach was looking a little panicked. Brook had her drone’s hand wrapped firmly around Roach’s wrist, helping him along like Faige was helping her.

“What happened?” Diya mumbled. She stumbled a little on the stairs. She didn’t feel well at all...

***

Next thing Diya knew, she was in the infirmary, lying on one of the examination beds. She sat up slowly, still feeling cold and weak.

The nurse glanced over from where she was examining another student to see Diya sitting up. “Granola bar next to you. Eat that,” she said firmly.

Diya looked to her left, her head feeling fuzzy. Sure enough, there was a granola bar and little plastic cup of water sitting there. She unwrapped the snack and started eating slowly. Almost immediately she felt a little better. She must have been hungry - she hadn’t had a lot for breakfast, though that wasn’t unusual. If she was catching a cold or something - maybe her body was just exhausted. Stress, illness, all of that, just wore her out.

While the granola bar helped her head, it didn’t solve the issue of how cold it was in the infirmary. She was pretty sure it was even colder than the theater!

The nurse finished examining the student she’d been working with and came over to Diya. “How are you feeling?”

“Cold,” Diya responded before nibbling on her granola bar again.

“You’ve got a bit of a fever,” the nurse stated. “Here’s some medicine, but for now I’ve got a school full of panicked kids to get through and you’re not my strangest case. Get back to your room and rest.” She dropped a pair of white pills in Diya’s free hand.

“What happened?”

“We’re still working that out. There have been some problems with some of the students’ powers. Anything strange with yours?”

Diya put the pills in her mouth and washed them down with the cup of water before shaking her head no.

“Pay attention to how you feel today. Both with that fever and with your abilities. Let me or another staff member know if anything changes.”

Diya nodded then hopped off the bed, not feeling back to 100% yet but a heck of a lot better than she had a minute ago. Still, a day in bed sounded just about perfect right now. Her stomach grumbled.

Well, maybe she could swing by the cafeteria first.

[Guillermo Espinosa]

Guillermo yawned as he made his way into the theatre. He looked around tiredly, the assembly hadn't started yet, and some of the students were still trying to find seats with their friends. Guillermo didn't have a hard time finding out where he was sitting.

Derrick Cork was sitting in the middle of a group consisting of a few football players, yelling obnoxious things and making obscene gestures to Shanna. She politely ignored him and continued to talk to Cody Ward about the next game. Guillermo made his way towards the jocks, slapping hands and giving a few bro-hugs before sliding down into his seat. Before Mr. Herrera even began to start his speech, Espy was out cold. He had literally just gotten off his flight from Miami, and he had no sleep the night before.

Before he even knew what was going on, Espy felt a familiar wave wash across him, bringing his peaceful rest to an abrupt end. He looked around. Everyone was frantic. Had someone let out a stink bomb by the exits? Was there a giant mouse running around? As he stood up to get a better view, he stumbled slightly over his shoelaces.

Oh no.

He immediately knew something was up, but before he could even think again, the second wave hit him. He felt...different. Off. He knew his powers were gone immediately. The students were in a complete chaos, and he knew there was nothing he could do. As the chaos unfolded around him, he stared at the back of the now empty seat in front of him intently. So many thoughts raced through his head. Now he would have to leave Westbrook. If he was awake, he could have stopped this from happening, he was sure of it.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the back of the chair in front of him caught on fire.

"Oh shit! Stop stop!" He looked around frantically for someone to help. Nobody was paying any attention besides Cork.

"Espy what the hell man! Put it out!"

Espy looked to Cork, then to the fire. He had no idea what to do. Why couldn't the fire just STOP!

With a single powerful thought, the flames were put out. He blinked a few times before realizing what was going on.

I guess it was time to go to the nurse.

[Faige Harrison]

Faige watched her neon green sneakers swinging back and forth a few inches off the floor. She sat in a chair in the infirmary, one of the less affected students. No gain or loss of limbs, no weird fevers like Dee, no glowing eyes... wait...

Blinking, Faige pulled a small pocket mirror out of her official "Villains" jacket. She totally kept it in there for burning plastic army men, not to check her hair or anything. She lifted the mirror up to eye level, staring at her reflection. In a panic, she dropped her mirror into her lap before scrambling to pick it up and take a second look. She stared into her own eyes in disbelief. The usual dim glow they had about them was gone, muddy hazel colour underneath still there. She pulled her lower eyelid down, stuck out her tongue, everything else seemed normal.

It was only now that she realized that empty feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't because she hadn't eaten brunch like she normally does. Something was missing. Her powers were gone. Faige decided to test this theory and made a "come here" gesture to one of her fellow bandmates, Trevor Winchester, who was sitting a few chairs away.

"Hey Trev..." she said cautiously "Did you get any bruises or anything from being thrown on your ass?"

Trevor shrugged his shoulders, pulling up the sleeve of his sweater. He had one large bruise on his forearm. Perfect.

"Can I borrow you for a sec? I can totes heal that."

"Oh yeah sure." He said, plopping down in the chair next to her and extending his arm toward her.

Faige put both hands over the bruise, concentrating. Her brow furrowed but she could not muster whatever it was inside her that allowed her to heal. She couldn't even find the source to tap from. That internal reactor the researchers said she had... where was it? "Come on...." she whispered, searching herself. Maybe it was just hidden? Like somebody had flipped off a lightswitch and she just had to flip it back on? "Come on!" she half yelled, causing Trevor to jump.

Still nothing, no light... no warmth. Nothing.

Faige turned in her chair, facing more forward and putting her head in her hands.

"You okay Fae?" Trev said, placing a hand on her shoulder. It seemed everyone had adopted that nickname for her these days.

"It's gone..." was all she managed to choke out, fighting back the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes.

[Exo-1 Stryker]

As Sydney hopped down the rows towards the exit, he was promptly stopped by Dr. Hendricks with folded arms.

"Where are you off too Mr. Walker?"

"Bathroom. Shouldn't have had that extra energy drink after breakfast"

The small dance he made may have been a bit exaggerated, especially for someone his age, but it didn't stop him from going through with it.

"The assembly is almost over, can't you..."

"Are you aware of the health risks and possible long term effects that come with someone who is forced to hold in..."

Rather than hear a lecture about bladder muscles, possible urinary tract infections, and graphic details of the symptoms, Sydney was waved past.

He slowly peered into the boys restroom, a truly horrible place. Digging into his pocket he dug out a small egg shaped device rolling it across the floor. Two small legs sprung out, sitting it upright as a blue light grid scanned the room, sending data back to his phone. Middle stall, sink on the far left. Game plan established!

As he was heading out, he slipped on a latex glove, a box of them conveniently kept in his backpack, picking the small device up and tucking it away in a bag for later sterilization.

He made his way back to the assembly, idly pondering the device used in The Fly (which he happened to just watch the night before), and how if a Bear-Mantis would be indeed the best killing machine to let roam through the halls. Teleportation technology did indeed exist, maybe he could tweak it for the desired results.

His train of thought was broken as he opened the door to see a bright flash of lights "Awww a laser show? What the hell, I thought this was a stop doing stupid things assembly."