[lonewolf]

"This is your first time, so I'll be gentle." Situational Awareness 101. Prior to the American Lone Wolf taking charge of the class, it was a relatively simple course with lectures three times a week with practicals twice a week. In the two years since taking it over, many of the upperclassmen have started referring to it as Do or Washout 101. An entire portion of Ground Beta, taken over by the hero, was commonly referred to as 'No Man's Land' due to the number of traps, pitfalls, and even live ordinance that was scattered throughout the sector. "Situation is as follows. A gang has taken control of this part of the city, fully intent to stay and make it a base of operations. What they didn't anticipate was the sudden crackdown by the Association to prevent this. Unfortunately, their mastermind, a quirkless nobody, was quicker with his traps than anticipated. Not to mention there's another villain lurking among the streets picking off anyone that decides to get too close to their center of operations."

He finishes loading a clip of brightly colored rounds, some kind of wood or rubber, and set it on the table everyone was gathered around, next to the intimidating looking rifle to the side. "The center is here," he says, indicating a five story building with a car manufacturer logo on it. "The Association is going for mass numbers on this hoping to overwhelm the defenses, or at the very least keep the two remaining villains busy long enough for an opening. The entire zone is filled with traps, so don't blindly rush in. You also want to keep an eye out for the other villain; she's a construct user, so there's no telling what she can do." He hefts up the gun, loading in the clip. "You all have thirty minutes to prepare. Be listening out for the signal to charge."

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

No Balloon's Land

Michael listened to his teacher as he explained the challenge to come. Michael was excited and anxious about the scenario. Michael was use to doing heavy and harsh training but it never had the same consequential weight behind it of an actual exercise. Traps were not something that Michael was adept with dealing with as he tended to focus on the safety of others first, so he would likely be caught off guard by something like this since he would be more concerned about the others than himself.

Another thing that made him nervous was the sight of the teacher's rifle. Firearms were a particular weak point for Michael. He could manage against most impact and bludgeoning style attacks pretty decently, but his balloon body did not resist piercing damage well. Especially from how powerfully and fast a bullet flew. There was always a very real fear that a shot could pass right through him. Aside from at best causing a leak that he'd need to patch up, there would be a chance of someone being hit after it exited his body. This was something that Michael hoped that by going to UAU that he would get stronger and smarter in order to deal with this rather common threat.

They had 30 minutes to prepare and so Michael used it to consider how to approach this scenario where the least amount of people were harmed. Michael didn't like the idea of anyone getting hurt, even if they were villains. So if he could charge in fast enough by himself he might be able to float up the building and breech from the side, he might manage to take out the threats before anyone else got hurt. But in doing so he would be leaving his classmates to face the obstacles out on the field alone... Michael decided it was best to stay with the others and then he could assess a plan once they got to the center.

Notes & Tags: lonewolf

[lonewolf]

Once everyone was on the starting line, they would find a strange absence of their teacher; those who might be more perceptive would have noticed that the hero would have wandered into No Man's Land without a word, rifle slung over his shoulder.

Granted, he didn't think anyone would catch on that he was, in fact, the bad guy of this story.

"Alright, Moody, showtime is upon us," he says into his radio, kicking back up on his perch. Looking up at his map, he'd see multiple students prepared at the start right next to the briefing area, but also some others spreading out to other points. Either way, he was losing faith in them. Sure, they'd get far, but the briefing area was in plain view of his vantage point. All he had to do was stick his head out and start taking shots. "You set the charges on the bridge, yeah?"

"You didn't tell me to set any charges!" a voice bit back, clearly annoyed. "And which bridge? There's three of them for whatever reason!"

"Oh, I must've done that this time around," he says, angling up his shot on some wolverine looking kid. "Focus your efforts on the north and south flanks. I think we're going to have a lemming train on our hands. Will be a hard lesson for the class..."

---

The grounds which the students were gathered were not in the best of conditions. Sure, it wasn't completely bombed out, but there was considerable damage. And once the buzzard sounded, the entire class of 30 surged forward, towards death and destruction. In the first thirty seconds two people would immediately go down, causing many students on the main road to scatter and squabble over cover. A third crack in the distance, and some poor girl would get nailed in the legs; she wasn't eliminated from the exercise, but based on the welt that was beginning to form on her leg it was clear that in a normal situation she would be in danger of bleeding out. In the distance a skirmish could be heard taking place; who knew what was happening over there?

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

Duck and Cover

As Michael prepared to enter the exercise, he hadn't noticed where their teacher had gone, but he did notice he was gone as they got into position at the starting line. Michael was concerned as they all took positions. They knew what the scenario was meant to be... at least with the information provided... but they were clumping up too much. With they way they were bunched together, it made for too easy to hit multiple targets or even compensate for aimless attacks. They would also be more likely to be hit in the crossfire of any traps that might get set off. Michael tried to shout out to get to cover, but with the signal to start, his words were drowned out by the charge of his class and the opening shots.

After the first shots, everyone quickly rushed away heading for cover, but this did leave two of their classmates downed. While more of the class advanced or tried to stay out of sight, Michael charged into action. Inflating his legs slightly to build up a bit of bounce, he sprung into action, dashing to pick up his downed comrades and move them behind cover. The third person to be hit by these long range shots was some girl who got clipped in the leg. Michael hurried to her to make sure she was safe and out of the line of fire. Judging by the welt in her leg, Michael had quickly came to the assumption that their teacher was on the other side firing on them with his rifle. It was definitely plausible that the simulated bad guys also had snipers in their ranks, but the disappearance of their teach before they started seemed to line up with Michael's assumption. "Are you okay? Are you able to move?" Michael asked the injured girl. If it had been real fire, she likely would be in serious trouble. Michael hoped that they would all be more cautious moving forward. He tried to get the attention of anyone near enough to hear him. "We need to keep behind cover as we advance. Don't stand too high or run out into the open. We need to clear this area and go towards those sounds. If they have people fighting there, then they might not have as clear of visuals for who's firing on us."

Michael helped the girl to her feet, keeping low behind the upturned car they were behind. "If you find any injured or downed along the way, help them behind cover." Michael turned towards the car and kicked the broken door off its hinges after a few sturdy stomps. "Wait for my signal and move up." Michael took a few heavy nervous breathes as he lifted up the car door. It wasn't much for a blast shield, but anything would be more than nothing at this point.

"NOW!" Michael shouted out as he whipped out behind the car and charged forward to draw some fire while the others would attempt to disperse on the sides. Michael bobbed and weaved as best he could, only taking cover for a second at most as he needed to keep drawing the fire for the others. Michael kept low behind the car door shield as it wouldn't be able to block for his whole body. If the rounds weren't designed to pierce he would have a better chance at taking a few shots if he had to, but he couldn't risk letting that hold back from trying to get forward so the others could take advantage to advance.

Notes & Tags: lonewolf

[lonewolf]

Tears would well up in the girl's eyes, shaking her head. "No! I think something's broken!" This was an exaggeration as she was capable of moving the foot on the same leg, and even gain some locomotion. The problem was, like everyone else, she was green. They all thought this was going to be a cake walk, but unfortunately for many it was anything but. It also didn't help that several students were overconfident, either coming from a prominent family or had faith their quirks were going to keep them safe. It would be at this point that the more foolhardy would begin to run into the first set of traps: landmines.

Well, not actual landmines, Mark would get in trouble for that. But he had managed to remove portions of the road to hide a small explosive with a quick-acting and decaying knockout formula for any that stepped on the plate. Another three students would go down to these, along with a fourth to another shot.

Two other students, though, would manage to get behind cover behind a nearby storefront near Michael. Seeing as he not only cared about his fellow classmates, but also seemed to know what he was doing, figured throwing their lot in with him was the best bet. Seeing him rip a car door off, one of them melded his hands into the ground and ripped up a piece of concrete, making another shield. "I got your back!" he called out, moving up with Michael as the party of four, albeit slowly, began to work their way up.

---

"Found a cluster of three on the south side. Scattered them, but making sure I didn't leave anyone buried."

"I know you're holding back, Kanjo," Mark says, looking at how the class was finally getting the picture. "Leave 'em be, any serious injuries we'll fish 'em out later. Besides, I got coverage there. One of them fell into one of my pit traps, and another fell back to find another way around. Last one snuck around you and is heading towards the bakery." He looked through his scope, frowning. Balloon boy was using a piece of a car as a makeshift shield. It wasn't bad, but unfortunately that was made of sheet metal and couldn't hold up to the caliber Mark was firing. Normally; because of the different material the worst he'd be able to do was make a dent in the door. It's the first day, don't go for the legs. Just leave a shot and hound him for it later. He pulled the trigger, the round flying and leaving a nice dent just under the window. Nearly a third of the class was out of action already, and more were to come; he had to change focus.

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

Michael Faraday

Through the Frying Pan

Micahel was worried for his classmates. The girl that had been shot in particular seem rather shaken up from the pain, or maybe more from the shock of it all. They were all new to this so it made sense that they were scared. Michael was too, but not quite the same. If this was just Michael by himself, he probably wouldn't know what to do. This was leaps and bounds beyond any training he had gone through before, however, Michael wasn't alone. He wasn't scared for himself or worried about what was ahead or what could a boy with balloon powers do against a sniper. Michael was scared for his classmates, but he couldn't let himself be weighed down by that fear or more would get hurt. All of that concern for his comrades focused his mind to act quickly for their sake. It likely wouldn't be enough against such a designed scenario, but it was what he was capable of for now.

Michael and another student with a slab of concrete pushed forward to draw fire as the other two moved per Michael's instruction. Michael tried to recall the lay out of area as their teacher had explained, but the sounds of distant explosions from "landmines" made that difficult to remember. A loud pang of a shot slamming into the car door shield snapped him back in. It was like he had thought. In order to not do serious damage to the students, the sniper bullets weren't quite as strong. Had this been a real bullet, it would have likely pierced straight through, but this was all Michael could do right now. This was all he could do to protect the classmates with him. He might not need something like this if he just went alone, but he couldn't leave them behind.

The other classmate's concrete slab would prove more affective in blocking fire. "Take point. I'm going to make sure the others can keep up." Michael said to his classmate as he dipped back behind him. Michael kept his "shield" at the ready as he helped direct the other two behind cover. "We just need to get up behind this building." Michael called out to his party. As the passed downed students, Michael pushed himself physically to move them behind cover. His body ached from strain as the reached what he could assume was out of the sniper's line of fire.

"We need to be careful moving forward. It sounds like they had some kind of explosives further up ahead. We can't go slowly, so just make sure your cautious. If you are in trouble call it out. I WILL come for you." Michael stated firmly. He wasn't going to leave anyone in danger behind.

Notes & Tags: lonewolf

[lonewolf]

There would be little in the way of resistance once the concrete slab was brought to bear. Of course, they'd have to keep an eye out for landmines, but that was not too terrible. Mostly. The party would manage to move up into an alleyway that would snake through a portion of the grounds; it wouldn't provide a clear shot to their objective, but it would at least keep them in cover for sniper fire.

The girl would be supported by the fourth member of the group, his forearms bulging more than normal. She would be limping, complaining that her leg was still broken to which he would just shake his head. The one with the concrete slab would snap the portable cover in half, throwing each one down the alley as hard as he could. This would prove fruitful as a trap would activate, what looked to be hidden upturned rakes flying out to smack people looney toons style. "I heard there were a few teachers with screws loose, but I didn't expect to run into one of them," he muttered, looking over at the group. "My hero name's Mash. I can sink my hands into any hard surface and manipulate it how I want. That's Buzz-

"-Carpenter!"

"That's what I said. He's got all kinds of saws and stuff in his arms. Like a Swiss army knife. You sound like you gotta plan. Think we have better chance with sticking with you than going alone."

---

"Damn. Kanjo, Alley 7 has a couple of cooks down it. I dunno if they paid attention to the map, but one of them had to."

"I'm busy at the moment!"

Mark looked over at the body cam he insisted she wear for the exercise. She was seemingly having a hard time navigating some of the traps he had set up, and he shook his head. "And I gave you a map of all the traps."

"No offense, sensei, but you gave me a map that was out of date. And it doesn't account for all the traps!"

"I don't see how this is my problem." With the class now scattered, and various explosions sounding off across the field, he had to keep an eye out for individual students who stepped into a field of vision. Which made his life so difficult because of where they all could be, but at least they weren't tackling him from all sides. "Just handle that one group, and I promise to give you a pass." It was hunting time.

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

Michael Faraday

Inflated Stakes

As they had made it to a relatively safer path, Michael's classmates used this as an opportunity to introduce themselves. The two men with them gave their hero names and admitted that they had come with Michael because he seemed to have a plan. "Sorry to disappoint but no. I don't have much of a plan, at least not one to get us through. I've been just going off instinct, same as you. My name's Michael, I can manipulate my body pretty much any way a balloon can. Its not going to help up much getting through this together, so we just need to rely on everything else we have."

Michael looked down to the girl that was still complaining about her injury. "How is your leg doing? I can carry you for a bit if you need. I don't know if you're able to help at all, but I'm not going to leave you behind even if you can't." He hoped that she would tell him who she was and what she could do if she was going to help them.

Michael looked back to his party. "If we can get to the center, I might be able to float up the side of the building and be able to knock out the people on the higher levels while you three can come in from the entrances for a pincer kind of maneuver, but we need to get there first. If we keep together and go at this smart, we should be able to avoid the traps, so if you see something say something. No one gets left behind." Michael said reassuringly hoping to motivate them with some confidence.

Michael was ready to take over carrying the girl from Carpenter if she felt she needed it. "Mash, Carpenter, take point. Everyone keep your eyes peeled high and low. We can't afford to take our time here but we can't charge blind."

Notes & Tags: lonewolf

[lonewolf]

The two young men, despite being disappointed at the lack of a plan, at the very least liked the fact that Michael was honest and had a set of priorities. Carpenter would help the girl, who at this point was introducing herself as Mesmer, lean onto Michael. She would, of course, insist that her leg was broken, which major bruising aside didn't seem to be the case. She did, after some prodding, say that she was capable of creating flashes of light within a specific range.

With the two on point, they'd begin their journey through some of Ground Beta's back alleyways. Initially, it didn't seem like there was any kind of damage out this way and that it could be safe...until Mash tripped a wire and caused a broom to fly out and smack him in the face. While dazed (and a little bloody), he was still willing to press on, but the ever present threat of traps made them wary. There would be a distinct lack of trip mines, but some quick lighting here and there from Mesmer revealed other dangers; a few pit traps, flying paint cans, and the like. For now, it seemed to be smooth sailing...

---

"Think I have eyes on that group. Looks like one of them is hurt."

Mark let loose a round, eliminating yet another student before looking up at Kanjo's body cam. "Seems about right. Remember, no mercy."

"...Whatever..."

---

As the group passed by small building the wall for it would explode, a figure leaping through with a pair of ethereal hammers in their hands. The group would be split in half, Mash and Carpenter on one side and Michael and Mesmer on the other. They had been found!

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

Michael Faraday

Right Jab

Michael felt bad that he didn't have a better plan or more experience in something like this. All Michael really had was his desire to keep everyone safe. He was relieved that Mesmer introduced herself. But it did make Michael feel more awkward about not settling on a hero name. Mr. Inflatable, Deep Float, Balloon Boy... none of them felt quite right... It was his first year with the university but its not like this was his first year working towards being a hero. He always assumed that part would just fall into place so he focused on everything else.

The lack of damage they encountered after a while was more troubling than anything. Sure it was a relief to not find further injured classmates, but it also meant that any traps would still be hidden and active. This point was proven as Mash ended up triggering a broom that came out and hit him. Michael rushed to his side, "Mash! Are you okay?" It was just a broom but still, it was enough to help them be more careful. Mesmer used her light quirk to illuminate the rather rudimentary traps. "Mesmer, that's brilliant!"

They could carry on much easier now, and with traps like these, Michael would be in a much easier position to defend his team. As they continued forward, suddenly a wall of a building burst open with a person brandishing ethereal hammers. Michael jumped back to avoid the exploded debris. The party was split in half from the rubble, nothing that they couldn't get around but it was enough to separate them to make a united defense difficult. "Mash! Carpenter!" Michael shouted out in concern but quickly turned his focus to their attacker.

Michael had to jump into action, but he couldn't carry Mesmer into the battle. "Mesmer," Michael started as he placed her down. "I need you to try to flash the enemy. Keep the lights in intense bursts to disorient." Michael had to trust that she would help as she could but stay out of the fray, so she didn't get into the crossfire.

Michael rushed in to get back up to Mash and Carpenter. Inflating his right fist to thrice its size, he launched a punch at the hammer wielding foe.

Notes & Tags: lonewolf

[/quote]

[lonewolf]

The attacker's first action was a sweep of Carpenter's feet, knocking him off balance. They would have brought both hammers down if it wasn't for Mash's quick thinking to take hold of a piece of debris and attempt to squash them, resulting in the attacker to adjust and deflect the attack away from them. Between a brilliant flare from Mesmer and Michael's followup attack they were sent flying, Carpenter's body acting as a tripping post as the attacker went flying, the hammers fading away. They wore all black, their head covered up as they recovered, looking up at the party as the surprise attack failed. Something was muttered, a new hammer forming in their hands before it being sent at high speeds towards the group. Instead of being aimed at any of the uninjured, though, the attack would be aimed at Mesmer, leaning against a wall as she was collecting her bearings. Regardless of what became of it, the attacker would run towards another building, leaping through a window with a crash and seemingly vanishing from their vision.

---

"South group is more competent than you might think. I need a better opportunity to spring on them."

Mark fired, taking out the sixteenth member of the class. Everyone left had gone to ground, slipping out of sight and dealing with the traps. He looked over at the bodycam footage, frowning. "Isn't fighting with your head your specialty?"

"I went in with no information. One swung a piece of wall at me, another blinded me, and a third is like...a balloon? Anyways, he punched me. I'm going to have to rethink my strategy there."

He shrugged, beginning to scan the monitors keeping an eye on the second ring of defenses. "Think I saw a pair northeast of you. Couple of mutants, you might have an easier time. I'll keep an eye south."

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

Michael Faraday

Taking the Hammer Throw

It seemed their teamwork had paid off. Just as Michael asked of her, Mesmer used a blinding flash to disorient the hammer wielding foe. This allowed Michael to slam his inflated fist into the attacker and sent him flying over Carpenter. Michael couldn't count that the guy was going down with that one hit and unfortunately he was right. Rather than targeting any of the closer party members, the attacker summoned forth a new hammer that he chucked towards Mesmer.

Michael was too far away from her to pull Mesmer out of the way so he just dove in from instinct. "Mesmer get down!" Michael shouted as he jumped into the line of fire. His body attempted to act as an air bag to cushion the hammer against his body to dampen its impact, but it still hit hard. Knocking a large amount of air from his body with as painfully as it sounded from Michael's latex masked mouth. This attacker's escape diversion had gone off without a hitch as this was now the new focus rather than detaining the hammer bro.

Notes & Tags: lonewolf

[lonewolf]

On impact the hammer would shatter and vanish, like it wasn't even there. Mash and Carpenter would run over to check on Michael, hauling him into a sitting position. "Incredible. I think I know who that was, and you tanked that pretty well."

"...Incred-balloon?"

"Shuddup."

The pair would help Michael to his feet once ready, though Mesmer would seem to be ungrateful. Regardless, the team was ready to move out again, though the road ahead would only get more and more hazardous. Sometimes there would be a few mines that would need to be taken care of or a rake trap, but there were others as well. Falling rocks (just small enough to not do major damage), pit traps with knockout gas, even a strange mechanized tractor with a bull's head that chased them. While this could be hell, the major takeaway was there was always something. Another trap to be wary of, something new that they had to file away as a hazard, something to make them question each and every turn. And this was just down this particular alleyway. In the distance, there would be explosions but also the crack of that rifle, one that was a constant source of dread. And to make matter worse, the space between each crack and explosion was getting less and less as time went on.

Samaritan

[Samaritan]

Michael Faraday

Taking the Hammer Throw

Michael could taste the copper in his mouth from blood. Not that anyone else could see beneath the layer of latex that covered his whole face. Michael groaned from the harsh direct hit of the hammer against his chest having done its fair share of damage. But it at least seemed that everyone else was okay. Even with his rubbery body and airy insides, that hammer had punched hard against his torso. As much as he tried to be a human shield for people, he was going to need to build up a stronger impact resistance. He could tank quite a lot, but it he needed to be stronger.

Michael gritted his teeth through the discomfort as Mash and Carpenter helped him back onto his feet. Michael could see Mesmer didn't seem very happy, but he couldn't get into that right now. He wanted to find out what was wrong but they had to keep going since traps and a sniper weren't going to be their only obstacles. They had to push forward or they'd get pinned down here. The four of them continued on, finding more traps littered along the way but with the sounds of gunfire and explosions in the background, it was clear they needed to pick up the pace. "I can still carry you." Michael said to Mesmer as he hid how much his chest hurt.

It was frustrating. How was this suppose to be a class for first years? If anything it felt more like condoned hazing by upperclassmen and possibly their teacher. It was unclear if they were meant to be able to even complete the set course. But regardless, Michael kept pushing forward. He tried to muscle past how much his ribs hurt and keep focused on looking out for traps as they made their way towards the center.

Notes & Tags: lonewolf

[lonewolf]

There weren't that many students left, and those that were had gone to ground or had partnered with other students. The latter of which was antithetical of the course, but Mark had set this up as a survival scenario for a reason: either you had your wits about you, or you were dead.

There were those that took the brunt of adversity and learned to overcome, or were washed away by the task at hand. And the task given to this class was, unfortunately, a no-win. It was always a no-win; Mark wasn't concerned whether or not the students could complete the mission, but whether they could be the last few survivors.

So as the group began to pass into the second ring of defenses, they would find a device pop up out of the ground spitting out a stream of discs at whoever got near. One's first reaction might be, "Who the hell has time to set up this many complex traps?!" Well, probably the only reaction.

---

After an hour of recovering the class and treating injuries, everyone would be back at the planning table with Lone Wolf leaning back in a lawn chair, legs crossed with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Thanks to you guys, I've won a bet! Not because you all did well, but because, as I predicted, a lot of you sucked. That said, as you all leave you can thank Kanjo-senpai for having faith in you." In another lawn chair in the back of the class would sit the phantom attacker that the party ran into, without the face-covering; orange hair would be pulled into a ponytail, and she'd be glowering at Lone Wolf at the head of the classroom.

Lone Wolf himself would pull out a piece of paper, as he cleared his throat. "That said, I'd like to congratulate all of you for surviving day one. I will but up front, I don't grade on a scale or anything of the like. You get either a 'pass' or a 'fail' on assessments. The only feedback I give is on a fail, so if you pass you better remember what you did right...except you, Mr. Balloon guy." He turned to Michael, pointing a finger at him. "You pass, but I'm attributing it to leadership. I'm impressed, but I'm going to test your reactions on an individual basis in the future." He looked over the class again, his smile fading. "In the field, we don't always get the luxury of working with another hero, and even less with the police. While I won't penalize anyone for working together, just know that more often than not, you'll be on your own."

Samaritan