The Armstrong Academy (2.0) Freshman Year (IN SESSION)

Numb. That's how I felt. It was the same feeling I awoke to in that hospital bed, all those years ago.

I rolled over over and looked at the clock, the sound of Viktor's words still echoing in my head.

It was early. I could sleep for a solid hour, yet still have time for breakfast and hang around a bit before class starts.

I closed my eyes and reflected on last night's events. In the real world, everything was a pain. Lights are always too bright, sounds always too loud... In dreams? In dreams, I was a god. I could do anything I wanted and not a single person in the universe oppose me.... Until now...

A sense of anger and frustration arose, as I remembered how powerless I felt. I tried to grip and hold on to that feeling, but like all my emotions, it crumbled and fell through my fingers like sand. Unable to get back to sleep, I simply opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. It took an entire hour for me to work up the energy to leave.

Breakfast was simple. Coffee, eggs, bacon, and some fruit. I looked around, hoping to see Natalya, but she didn't seem to be awake yet. Not surprising, given what she went through last night. To think it was her own father that would do something like that. I found the idea, bothersome... But I wasn't quite sure why. I hadn't even known her for a full day after-all.

By the time she arrived, I had already finished my meal and was on my second coffee.

Her eyes were bloodshot and looked as though they were being weight down by thick and heavy bags.

"You look like a vampire." I chuckled, feeling my energy levels perk up a bit.

Natalya stared at me a moment with dead eyes. "Well at least someone's happy enough to make jokes." She took another hit of joe, sticking her tongue out in disgust after she finished. "So... How was... last night?"

"Oh, right. That." I said, pretending it hadn't crossed my mind. "It went well enough, I do have one complaint though... We haven't even had our first date yet, and I'm already getting roughed up by your father! You should have at least bought me a drink first." I said, with a grin.

"Ugh, as if! I already have my sweet Uliana!" She said, as a matter of fact. "But I can't even have the same room as her while I'm here!" She slumped into her seat, with a pout.

Uliana? Oh, right. That zombie girl. "That reminds me, I never sensed her door last night. Do zombies sleep?"

"Hmmm? I assume so... or at least she seems to..." She pause a moment to consider it. Was she just pretending? Her expression seemed to ask. "Though, I technically don't have to sleep either..." she continue on. Then more annoyed, "SO WHY DO I HAVE THESE BAGS UNDER MY EYES!" she yelled, pulling her face down with her hands in an exaggerated display.

I chucked and attempted to make a quip, only for the bell to interrupt my train of thought.

Ugh, figures... "I suppose that's our cue to part for now." I gave her a slight bow and dropped into my shadow. "Till next time!" I yelled, before zipping off.

I'd have stayed to chat longer, but I wanted to be out of the cafeteria before any traffic built up. Though bypassing such an obstacle would be as simple as moving through the shadows, the noise and chatter would have still given me a migraine.

Name: Jenny Sparx (Hero Name: Parakeet)

Nationality: Bulgarian

Sexual Preference: Gay/Lesbian

Age: 17

this was all done in the RP section with NobodyJones (@jacthripper)

After Jenny finished her therapy session, she got a notification on her phone of an email. "The training room? I really should get back and feed my birds but they will probably be fine for an hour or so" She made her way to the training room and saw Eklund, Peyton and a person shapeshifting "well im gonna guess its the shape-shifting guy/girl/thing wanting to speak to me" she thought almost ignoring the other 2 she walked over to him "You wanted to see me, sorry it took so long i had to do the mandatory therapy session for stuff."

No problem, he said, "Wait a second, Urban Legend could you release a sonic blast from the behemoth?"The Invader screeched, shaking the room.Nobody listened, and then held up his hand for it to stop."You can copy frequencies, right?"

"in theory i can yes, i mostly can analyze them and then reflect them with my own sonic screams but if you're asking me to match that particular scream's frequency it shouldn't be that difficult it might take some time for me to adjust on the harmonic scale but i'll eventually get there"

"Not exactly" Nobody smiled "I want you to copy a different frequency" He then hummed an eerie tone. "Can you copy that at full volume? Urban Legend, play the robot again." The robot released it's metallic shriek. Jenny released her inhuman screech. https://imgur.com/a/DErfNImgurKarnak's Death Note The machine vibrated rapidly, and while it did not explode, it was obviously weakened

It's voicebox shattered Nobody turned to Jenny "Pretty cool, huh?"

Jenny spoke "that's a pretty nifty trick, i'll have to remember it. But you know i can liquefy circuitry and even human brain tissue. I can cripple robots like that in a bunch of other ways. Still your way seems the least destructive" she said "Might help when im trying not to destroy the entire robot. How did you know to do that?"

I can analyze the weakness in anything, even sound waves. If that giant was organic, it’s head would have exploded. It’s amazing though. It seems that the machine is a polymimetic alloy, no circuitry at all.

"That's weird a machine with no circuitry? I guess after everything ive seen i shouldn't be surprised but still thats shocking." She paused and did her best to remember the tune "This was fun and it certainly was educational, but after the mission and therapy im beat. I'm gonna go to my room for a little bit, shower and feed my birds you know. I probably smell awful" Jenny turned to leave and fly back to her room

Jenny, while flying to her room, heard her stomach grumble "ahh you got to be kidding me" she thought "of course i'm hungry" she sighed and changed course to the cafeteria she perused through her options before deciding once again on a salad "if it ain't broke don't fix it" she ordered a Cobb salad and found her way to a corner of the room. "Hard to believe a student almost died here huh?" she thought with her back to the wall to prevent any surprises "I have a feeling i'll be sitting like this for a while, just for my own peace of mind"

After she finished up she quickly placed her dirty dishes in the cleaning area and left "she thought about all the things that happened that day "god this is all incredibly exhausting."

Upon exiting the building Jenny flew to her room and opened the window to get in, she fed her birds and whistled the song "Little Bird Little Bird (fly through my window)" Once she finished she turned on her Gamecube and put Pikman in. "You know what this needs? speakers" she went to her little control box that she had already forgot the name of and put speakers that connected to the tv "because the whole damn school needs to know im playing pikman damn it"

She also began brainstorming prank options for Jackson "sabotaging his cleaning equipment seems like the best way to do it" she thought. She continued playing Pikman well into the night

After the match P-S4 heads back to classroom. And overhears chatter about how two students never came back. "Odd" P-S4 thinks to itself . Once the Metropolitan enters P-S4 is all ears, listening carefully to his words. When he goes over her match and mentions improving her robotic body P-S4 visibly shutters at that thought. Removing and adding parts, where does she start and end? If P-S4 replaced every part of it's body with a new one is she still the same being? Or different a one? "Never ever Never! I can get stronger without ripping myself open!" After the class meeting P-S4 and the sandwich kids enter Armstrong's office for mandatory therapy. "Human therapy for a machine??" P-S4 thinks to itself, normally it never questions humans but how can a human ever ever understand a machine? "Thats like trying to talk to a sad dog or something like that" P-S4 casts doubt on humans. A doubt that will continue grow and grow............. Once M enters the office P-S4 waits for a bit. Sees some students enter and leave. Then when its her turn it enters M's office. Taking a seat or whatever it may be upon entering .

M:'Hello there. PS-4 is it? An interesting name. I won't ask any questions of you, just whatever you feel comfortable telling me in regards to the situation that happened and how you feel about your peers involved and the situation as a whole."

How do I feel the situation? Honestly my first thought was "I'm so embarrassed, I wish everybody else was dead." Which kinda worried me since no one should be dead from my actions. Then I was ashamed for feeding a human a dirty drugged sandwich I found on the floor. Which I don't even know why I did, it was like some outside force controlled me. As for how I feel about my peers well nothing really, they acted as humans would, I guess. I don't know what I've would've done if Tadashi died. But I do have one question for you though that is why is human doing therapy on a robot, how would you how I feel?

M': "Sometimes we have irrational thoughts in regards to intense situations, as long as you don't act on them you shouldn't worry too much. In regards to your peers, it seems you hold humans in a different light. Is it strange going to a hero school populated mostly by humans? I should probably answer your question first though. I wouldn't truly know how you feel, no. This session simply serves as an outlet should you find yourself needing one. Often times individuals feel they should keep their feelings or thoughts bottled up with no safe or appropriate way to release them. I'm here just in case there's anything you need help processing or discussing, and perhaps, through common experience, I may be able to help."

Honestly? It is a bit weird, I've never really been around humans. Yet I feel like I need to everything I can to protect and serve them, even when I know very little about them. Its one part of my programming that never waivers, one part I can never stray from. Even when I really want to. And I see what you mean, it does help to talk. Let things be out in the open, so to speak.

M:"Well, I'm sure you'll become a great hero. It may be your programming but there's possibly a part of you that genuinely wants to help, and it may be confused or conflicted right now, but give it time and room to grow. I'm just glad you feel comfortable talking with me, even if it's something you're not used to. Now, is there anything else you'd like to discuss with me? If not and you feel comfortable returning to school then I'll let you go, and just know, you can talk with me whenever you need."

"There isn't anything else thank you for talking it helped me understand more about myself. "

After the therapy session with M, P-S4 decides to head to the cafeteria in hopes of talking to Living Transcript, the chef hero in learning what makes good food bad and what humans can or cannot eat. And to get a sandwich.

Natalya: "Oi!~" I wave to her. "You don't have any sandwiches this time, yeah?"

I hear as I enter the cafe . "No but I plan to get some, some that are not drugged. Maybe give one to Tadashi to make up for almost killing him." I respond.

Natalya: "Not poisoning him? That's a good start." "Though, I'd recommend something nice and sweet if you're trying to cheer him up, y'know?" "Maybe something fruity? A banana an' strawberry milkshake, maybe?" "Why'd you even try to give people those anyway? They were clearly messed up"

I don't know why I just did. It was like some outside force was controlling me. A shake with a sandwich might suffice. I was actually planning to offer my services or whatever it maybe to make up for almost killing him.

Natalya: "I might skip on the sandwich part if I were you. Don't think he'll want to have one of those for awhile, y'know?" "I know where you got those sandwiches, by the way. You're not familiar with human customs, are ya?"

"Your correct, I lived only with a sibling if you can even call it that. In an old factory. I've seen humans from afar but never really interacted with them. The only thing I really know is they're great, the best thing in the universe for some reason. Its the one thought that never leaves my head, so almost killing one from my own stupidity really really hurts me down to my core."

"I see."Well, if it means that much t'ya, go for it. Just make sure he doesn't ask too much of you, yeah?"

"I'll see what happens, alot needs to be to made up for. Now I must retrieve the best sandwich and shake the Living Transcript can make and prepare for whatever may come. I leave you to finish your drink, thank you for the advice."

Natalya:"Oh! Before you go," "Wanna trade numbers?"

"Sure I'd love to!"

Natalya: After exchanging numbers, I smile at her. "Call me if you need any help, yeah?"

P-S4 smiles and thinks "Wow maybe I can be friends with humans!" . then saying "Definitely, its nice to have someone for help." P-S4 walks up to the hero and softly asks "Excuse me Living Transcript , I don't know of your busy or if it costs money but I need the best none dirty none drugged sandwich and banana strawberry shake you can make please. Its for Tadashi , to make up for almost killing him I'm sure you saw it happen it happened right here in the cafeteria "

P-S4 picks up the food and thanks the Living Transcript . "Thank you so much!" And just as P-S4 gets the food she sees Tadashi quickly enter and leave following Peyton. Quickly she runs out following him yelling out "TADASHI!" Running up right next to him saying "Please Please forgive me! I did not know what I was doing. I almost killed you so to make for up it take this shake! I'm also prepared to offer my services to make up for again almost killing you"

Tadashi:"Uhhhhh."

Peyton :“It seems you have something else going on.” . “I’ll be going now.”

"I know I almost killed you but if you'll accept this great shake made by the living transcript I'm sure you'll be just a tiny bit happier! I promise this is not drugged!" P-S4 bows at the waist while holding out the drink inches away from Tadashi's face. "I'm ready to be your indentured servant for the rest of your natural life if need be!" P-S4 cannot believe what she just said "servant for life!?" P-S4 repeats the words in her head, face turning crimson red. Is this her programming or does she genuinely feel this way? How can a robots face turn red? This and a million other questions race through her head.

Tadashi: "I accept both of your offers friend. The shake and the indentured servant. I forgive you for what happened last night, but to help make up for it I would like to for you to help me with something. You must help me befriend Peyton Jones!"

"Yes of course! Nothing else would make me happier ma-" P-S4 quickly covers her mouth and does everything she can to hold back. In her head she thinks "Was I about to say Master!? What the hell is wrong with me!?". She lets out a sigh after putting her arms down only to immediately say "Mas-" .Again she covers her mouth just as quickly as last time. Her face 10x redder than before. "Stupid programming! Stop it! I know humans are great but I'm a really going call him master? Are humans that great? That would be appropriate! I mean inappropriate! Ugh! Ok calm down. And Focus". P-S4 takes her hand away from her mouth and stutters "Ma-Ma Ma MAN!" Finally over powering that small part of her programming. While letting out a stupid smile on a red as hell face

Tadashi:"Come Queen-S4. Let's goto my room and try to figure out how to do this." Tadashi says taking her by the hand and leading her down the hall to his room.

Natalya :Oi, no taking girls into the boy's dorms!" I yell out. "P-S4, you don't have to go with him."

P-S4 stops, once she hears Natalya yell. "Huh I don't?" P-S4 puzzled and wonders is she asking or suggesting that? Her robo brain buzzes to comprehend the situation.

Natalya :"Nope! Just come back over here!~"

"Uhh okay I guess" P-S4 starts to head back

Tadashi:"Oh no this is a misunderstanding. We are just going to strategize. Besides I've already had a girl in my dorm last night. Come Queen-S4. Come with me to my room." He doesn't let go of her hand.

"Right Ma-MAN!" P-S4 says she folows Tadashi again

Natalya :What do you think you're doing taking advantage of her? Are you blind?" Her face is red and she clearly is having trouble internally. P-S4, don't listen to him."

"Sure, got it!" P-S4 replies

Tadashi: "Run with me." Tadashi whispers in her ear. Then he points at Natalya and says "YOU GOT BAMBOOZLED!" And sends a mirage running at her. Still holding Queen-S4's hand he takes off running

Natalya :"P-S4, Go back to the cafeteria." Turning back to Tadashi. "As for you, should I be the one to teach you how to read the mood?"

At this point in time Ollie (with Harold) and Nikko also arrive.

Ollie waves at Natalya "Hey Natalya! What's going on here?"

Natalya :This one," I point to Tadashi, " Clearly can't understand the atmosphere and is trying to take advantage of P-S4"

Tadashi:"Listen I'm not doing anything wrong. Shes my friend. "

Natalya :"Your friend?" I state blankly. "You couldn't even tell she was embarrassed and struggling."

Ollie:"Oh gosh. That's not very hero-like!"

Natalya :"That's why I'm taking my part in making sure nothing bad happens to poor P-S4." Turning back to Tadashi.

Tadashi:"T-pt-t..." Tadashi sputters in disbelief. "Take advantage!?!? I'm not taking advantage of anyone. Shes mfriend."

Natalya :"Are you really just dense?" I respond immediately. "You think I didn't see you trying to avoid her? It seemed you only took an interest in her AFTER hearing her offer."

Tadashi:"I was not trying to avoid her. You clearly read the situation wrong. I'm just trying to make friends."

With conflicting commands P-S4 struggles on who to follow. The words OBEY AND ACCEPT. LIKE A GOOD ROBOT YOU MUST SERVE ALL HUMANS. NOTHING ELSE MATTER. HUMANNITY IS GOD....These pondering her mind into mush until a snap occurs. "YOU GOT IT MASTER!" replying to Tadashi's request late but at the sound of saying that out loud P-S4 lets go of Tadashi's hand and begins to rapidly punch herself in the face with extreme speed. Out of sheer absolute embarrassment. With multiple students hearing that remark. P-S4 falls to the floor shutting off, wishing that everybody else was very very dead

It all went dark. Nothing heard or seen other than

P-S4 had no thoughts only this. only this only this only this only this only this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this this ..........................

Then light. She sat up yelling "Master!" before looking around asking "Wha? Where am I? And why isn't everyone very dead?"

Max:"Dead?"

"Because I uh never mind....."

Turning seeing someone speak.

, Upgrade: "You've had a bit of a rough day. I've rebooted you to previous settings. Are you OK?"

"Yes, I'm just fine, it was like I was in the hallway then in here the next moment"

Natalya:"Hey girl! 'Bout time you woke up!~You kinda just collapsed as Tadashi was trying to force you to go to his room. I saw the whole thing, I can't believe he didn't notice you struggling"

" I have a general idea of what happened and that makes it worse"

Upgrade: "Your friends here brought you in after whatever happened. If you need any further fixing let me know, but you should be clear to resume your night."

P-S4 then hears Natalya whisper to her

Natalya:"Say, you can't say no to people - can you?"

"No I really can't unless if they aren't human"

Max: "Can't you categorize him as nonhuman so you can ignore him?"

" If I could do that I would do that for every one I meet"

Max: I see

Upgrade: "Is that something you would like me to fix?"

"I would like that but I really don't like the thought of messing around with my internals the very thought makes me shake with fear, maybe that's also part of my programming. Think you could check that somehow?"

Then turning to Natalya

Natalya: "I see. That's a bit.. worrying." I say. "Hmmm." I think a second. "How do commands from multiple people work? Like, if they conflict, y'know?"

" I just go around in circles trying to follow the latest command." Max speaks up interject an idea

Max:"What about a free will downloadable program that you can download yourself?"

"If that can work, then maybe. What about the existing programs already inside of me? Natalya also responds to Max's plan

Natalya:"I dunno. If she has so much problems from two conflicting orders, 2 conflicting programs would probs be a lot worse"

Upgrade: "I'd certainly be willing to. It may take some time to do so however. Your creators installed quite an intense firewall that fights back should anyone try to interfere with your programming. I'll look over it and try to come up with a solution. For now, I suggest you stay with friends."

"What if we make a virus program that overwrites the obey program with the free will program," Max suggested

"While If I have a firewall as intense as Upgrade says I do then I don't think a free will program or Virus would be of help much if at all."

After hearing Upgrade's latest statement. Natalya adds

Natalya: "Looks like there's no point if Upgrade says it'll be difficult." I turn to @P-S4 "Well, if you're ever having problems, send me a text or a call!~ I'll be there super fast." I pause a moment. "You could still do that, right? Not like it would interfere with your current orders."

Max quickly wrote down his room number on two pieces of paper. Than handed them to P-S4 and Natalya before leaving the room

Max: "I don't have a phone go here if you need me,"

"Thank you Natalya, and it shouldn't be a problem." Also thank you Max I'll be sure to go! And thank you so much Upgrade for rebooting me. Please tell me as soon as you have an update on the firewall." P-S4 then leaves for her room to relax after a stressful night.

As P-S4 heads for her room she comes across Fluffy doing a strange dance walk. Puzzled she wonders. " How does one of the top scorers be so care free? Must be nice" Fluffy then notices you.

Fluffy:"Oh, hellow there, P-S4! So, going straight to the point, there's a book in the library that I'm not able to read. I think someone like you should be able to do it, so, could you help me with that?"

Before she could even think the words "Yeah, sure no problem" came out faster than she can process. In her mind she mulls "Dang did my responses become more automatic?"

Fluffy:"Cool, let's do it!"

He leads her to the library section with the single book about alternate timelines.

Fluffy:"See, this book here I can't read, apparently my willpower isn't enough. But a robot should have no problem with that kind of thing, so could you take a look at it?

"Yep that I can do man!" She opens the books and reads it, her robotic mind buzzing with energy. As soon as she does. P-S4's brain only sees one thing chaos so much chaos

"Sorry no dice, just alot of pain and chaos.".

Fluffy: "Well, I was going to ask you to hold me in place with the book in front of me until my brain melted and my mind collapsed into madness, but I guess I might just start sending lightning all over the place, so that shouldn't work"

"Sending your mind into madness won't help you, it might even kill due to mental stress"

Fluffy: "You talk like that's an issue"

" Uhh being dead or insane doesn't bother you?"

Fluffy: "Ha, ha, . . .", he straightens his pose and looks into the sky, "like my mind couldn't recover from that". You can see a single tear coming out of his eye

" I don't know if it's my place or not, but you should be careful of your limits. Remember when Rado tried to eat that drugged sandwich but we didn't let him because he might of died, this is the same type of situation. "

Fluffy: "That's completely different. Anyway, we aren't going to get anything from this, so we should probably go. What did Tadashi do to you anyway?"

"He uuh..." P-S4 looks at the ground

"Nothing really, if anything it was my fault, something that I do not care to remember."

Fluffy: "Okay, then. Anyway, he probably blames you for the incident yesterday, so you need to keep an eye open. It's the law of the jungle, you gotta take him out before he takes you. I'd recommend doing it during clean-up duty, just get a huge boulder to fall on top of him. You can zone him there with his potential new fear of sandwiches, so it's just a matter of doing it without a teacher noticing. That Natalya is pretty crazy, she could cut a . . ."

And he keeps explaining how to take Tadashi out in a very detailed fashion. "Okay then thank you for the for very detailed imagery of blood and guts, I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I at the very least hope to make it up to him....someday probably very far far into the future....like 50 years from now. But until then I'll make sure to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. And sorry I couldn't help with your book, it seems important to you if your willing to go into madness to read it, best of luck. " Fluffy. With that P-S4 heads to her room to get some much need rest.

While walking to her dorm after helping Fluffy she again runs into someone Tadashi and when she does

She a has horror stuck face and can't speak. Tadashi walks over to P-S4 and begins to ramble

Tadashi:"Queen-S4! I've been looking for you. I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier. I swear I wasn't trying to take advantage of you." "I just haven't felt very accepted here since I arrived and you seemed like you would be my friend. I really just want to make friends and get along with people. That's why I wanted your help making friends with Peyton because he doesn't seem to like me very much. "

Big Inhale.

"Then that scary lady showed up and she gave me a look like she was going to kill someone so I didn't want you to go with her and get hurt! And that's why I tried to run away with you but she accused me of taking advantage of you. I would never take advantage of you, I'm gay. Like really really gay. So then I started panicking and you called me master and that made me look like more of a creep in her eyes so I panicked more and ran away when I should have checked on you to make sure that your fine, but I didnt. But I should have. And I was crying because I was embarrassed but then I felt bad because I feel like this is all my fault. And I'm really really SORRY."

P-S4 was stunned. She didn't know what to say. He was sorry? The person she almost killed was sorry? P-S4's mouth hangs open her programming thrown for a loop . She tires to make a sound but cuts herself since she hears the oh so embarrassing word "Ma-". She lets out a sigh faces the ground and begins to speak. "I-It's okay, I never felt like you trying to take advantage of me you go to the best hero school in the world! How can someone like enter this place. They can't .I was embarrassed because my programming makes me obey and serve ALL humans and I offered to be your servant. " Since winces at that and builds up to say why she shut off "A-a-anddd when I called you ma-mas-master in front of all those people I couldn't take the embarrassment and forced a shut down. My stupid programming makes me say the stupidest things and think the stupidest things. Please Tadashi don't be sorry, I'm the one who should be sorry I almost killed you! A human! A robot who does that should be the servant of that human for life... A dumb lifeless machine like me..."

Tadashi:"I'm so sorry. I had no idea that you had to obey humans orders because of you're programming. I don't want to use that to make you do things that you dont want too." Tadashi's voice was full of insincerity. "I forgive you for what happened with the sandwiches. You shouldn't feel bad because I'm the worthless one not you. I'm awkward and scare everyone off and I've never done anything great in my life. But you...you are a magnificent feat of engineering! The fact that you can feel embarrassment or remorse at all as a machine makes you the most special being in this school!"

P-S4 upon hearing that lets out a soft smile

And is filled with joy. She was forgiven. These emotions reminded her, that although not human she was no IS life. Filled with happiness and gratitude she puts her hand on Tasahi's shoulder preparing herself to thank him. "Thank you that meant alot master" she pulls away and winces at the last part. "Guess I still gotta work on that part ma-ma-master" Putting on a smug smile. While in her head " I really really gotta work on that, what the hell did the reboot do to me?"

Tadashi: "It's okay. I know you dont mean it when you call me master. I promise that I will never take advantage of your programming ever again. To me your not a machine, a program, or anything like that. You're my friend."

"Thank you again, it means alot. Now I really must get going now. I gotta rest after a stressful like this." P-S4 waves good bye as she heads to her dorm.

Tadashi waves goodbye and heads back to his dorm

P-S4 lets out a MASSIVE sigh as she lands on the bed. "How can a robot like me get tried?" laying in bed for a while. She turns to the poster on her wall

"Who made me like this, why did they make this. Humans...and for what? To be embarrassed!?" She tears down poster and when she does P-S4 feels extreme mental anguish. "Uhhhh. Why why can't get rid of this! I I I LOVE HUMANS!" Covering her mouth she tries again "I LOVE humans! I LOVE LOVE LOVE HUMANS! UGH WHY CAN"T I SAY HATE!Okay I.........hate....hu-hu-hu humidity. I ha-lo-lo-lo-ha-lo-ha-lo-ha-lo-LOVE! Ugh P-S4 cries tears of frustration. I'm bound to worship humans for forever. Sigh...maybe it's better that way no more struggles. No more hardship....P-S4 peacfully drifts off to sleep....awaiting what the next of classes will bring.

After the end of the first-year's first training mission the students had several hours to free time to spend how they saw fit. Here's what happened during the down time.

• Several students trained in the Urban Legend training centers including Tanjiro, Nobody, and Jenny.
• Peyton & Raymond sparred and bonded and Peyton displayed his deduction abilities on Raymond and another student, Marianne. Marianne was embarrassed but impressed.
• Several students went through therapy check-ins with the Guidance Officer, M.
• PS-4 and Tadashi had a mix-up in communication leading to a bit of a conflict that resulted in PS-4 shutting herself down. UPGRADE was able to reboot the young robot but her settings seem to be... different? UPGRADE is also working on a way to bypass the previous commands PS-4 has been given that force her to obey any human command. Eventually Tadashi found PS-4 and apologized, mending the previous confusion and potentially finding a new friend.
• Fluffy went to the school library where he met with The Archivist and requested a book about the multiverse. Upon opening it he began experiencing a memory of an unknown individual, as the book had no author. In this memory he saw time both moving forwards and backwards at incredible speeds, altering everything around the man. He could only experience the memory for 5 seconds before the intense pain in his head forced him to close the book. Fluffy attempted to have others read the book, including PS-4 and Pheus; however, both times the same thing happened, giving the three of them mild headaches and nothing more.
• Rado was given the offer by Armstrong to disobey the hours of curfew; however, he must have a faculty member with him should he choose to do this. Rado chose M. He also brought a switchblade. Typical Rado.
• Both Natalya and Uliana were pulled from the Academy by Viktor. It is unknown why this was, but in the morning, when everyone woke, the two were gone.

What will happen moving forward? Let's find out!

Instead of heading off to your homerooms like normal, each of you were given a notification to meet in the auditorium so that Armstrong could address some recent happenings.

Inside you see the entire first year class, some students, unaware of Viktor coming to retrieve his family, mutter about the disappearance of Natalya and Uliana. Ollie sits next to Nikko looking saddened at the disappearance of his first new friend at the Academy, and Nikko attempts to comfort him. Sophie gossips to Meoldi and Marianne about "why" they were taken from school, and conjures various rumors on the subject. When everyone settles in Armstrong addresses the class, standing on a stage behind a podium.

Armstrong: Good morning students. As some of you may know, Natalya Vasiliev and Uliana have left the Academy. This was a decision made by their guardian and he spoke with me about why they were removed, nobody left on bad blood or because they were in trouble and I hope this helps dispel any rumors that may have begun floating around. Now, given the events of the first few days we've decided to make some changes to our curriculum. First on the agenda is the merging of both Class 1A and 2A into one single class. This decision was made after a lengthy discussion with your homeroom teachers, the vice headmaster, and myself. We feel that it may foster a grander sense of community than our separating each of you, and we realize for many of you this is your first time away from home. We hope you will find a second home here at Armstrong, and will continue to do whatever we can to make you feel at peace here.

He walks away from the podium now, towards one of the wings, turns, and addresses you all again.

Armstrong: Now with more exciting news I'd like to introduce you to two new students who will be attending our Academy, Lavender and Violet Summersbane.

As he says this the two sisters walk onto the stage.

Gallery

Lavender has with her a small pet owl and waves at all of you. Violet smiles and also waves.

Armstrong: We hope you provide them with a nice warm Armstrong welcome!

He moves back to the podium.

Armstrong: Now, as you all know, some of you were supposed to have clean up duty today due to how your first missions went. Unfortunately there was a large scale attack that occurred last night when a gang of villains went on a string of robberies. The Metropolitan and Absolute Crane responded to the attack and stopped it; however, we're going to need some extra hands to clean this mess, so all of you will be joining us in that exercise. It'll give each and every one of you a close up look to a battleground and may help you realize that what you do during a fight matters not only for yourself, but for those around you. So, when you leave here you'll all get on the bus and head downtown to aid the relief efforts, and I don't want to hear any complaining! That's not the hero thing to do!

Armstrong then dismisses you all and you hop onto the bus and head to downtown Paragon to clean up the aftermath of the fight.

You arrive at downtown Paragon and are greeted by this sight:

There are totaled cars, several destroyed buildings, and debris covering the streets and sidewalks. The city block has been closed down so there are no longer any pedestrians, only other relief workers who belong to the Department of Disaster Cleanup (DDC) who've already begun working to clear the area.

Among the destroyed buildings is a small convenience store (think like a bodega or a gas station's shop), an apartment complex, a small antique shop. There are some buildings still standing -- a used car dealership and an electronics shop. The owners of all these buildings are still here, also sorting through things, as are several tenants from the apartment complex.

You're told to start helping, be it clearing rubble or removing destroyed vehicles. There are several faculty members aiding the process - Absolute Crane, The Metropolitan, and Terror Raptor.

Go forth.

Name: Jenny Sparx (Hero Name: Parakeet)

Nationality: Bulgarian

Sexual Preference: Gay/Lesbian

Age: 17

Jenny sat on the bus thinking "the classes merging is a bit weird so sudden and soon, but i wont complain about the departing students, never liked them anyways." When the bus stopped Jenny stepped out with the other students "oh crap" she uttered under her breath "lots of destruction" she sighed and looked at the faces of her classmates "we need something to lighten the mood" and then she saw Jackson "oh yeah there's no foreseeable outcome where this ends badly, and it ought to cheer everyone up."

she waited for the right moment then she slowly snuck up on Jackson and when she was close enough she said "Hey Jackson" then in, quick succession, she dropped to her knees and attempted to pull Jackson's pants down.

Jackson turns the moment he hears his name but is caught off guard by what comes next. The pants he once wore securely around his waist are now sitting around his ankles, exposing his boxer'd form to the entire class. Some of the class reacts with delight, some with horror, and some with complete disinterest. Jackson looks at them, then his pants, then you. You see his face turn a bright red -- is it rage, embarassement, his flame based powers activating? You be the judge. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR YOU HALF-WIT?! BY THE TIME I'M DONE WITH YOU WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CLEAN YOU OFF OF THESE STREETS TOO!"

enny laughing her ass off in the face of certain danger says "I'm not gonna lie it was 50% attempt at lightening the mood, 25% personal satisfaction, 15% curiosity at your reaction, 10% to see the reaction of everyone else" She then responded to his threat "you're cute but you could do better than that threat right?"

"AAARRRRRGGHHHH! YOU THINK YOU'RE SO FUNNY DON'T YOU?! JUST YOU WAIT TILL OUR NEXT EXERCISE! I'LL DESTROY YOU!" He aggressively pulls his pants up and storms off in the opposite direction, towards a large pile of rubble on the edge of the scene.

Jenny smiled under her breath "looking forward to it" she flipped her blonde hair and went about her business cleaning up at the edge of where they were supposed to be cleaning. "I'd actually prefer to be more alone right now away from the others" then a sickening thought crept into her head "hmm i hope the villains didn't leave any surprises for the clean up clue, i can probably use my echolocation to see if there are any weird or out of place objects."

But Jenny didn't find anything necessarily out of place "I guess since i don't know this area as well anything well hidden might not raise a red flag, still i know a bomb when i see one so its a relief there aren't any potentially nasty surprises out there" and she continued her clean up business "Well i hope everyone else is having as much fun as i am right now."

after Jenny had mostly cleaned the area she was cleaning she flew back to the area they were dropped off at "we're probably close to heading back to school" when she got back she did her best to locate The Metropolitan and saw he had been in a fight. She walked up to talk to him "You alright there teach? Looks like I missed a party"

Metropolitan looks at his injured arms, they've begun healing already but they're still not at 100%, "This is just a day in the life. One of those villains from last night overstayed his welcome, attacked some students while they were off in the sewers having an unwarranted adventure."

Absolute Crane overhears and shouts "Stop trying to underplay it, you're seriously hurt."Metropolitan's face grows red after being called out.

Jenny nods at absolute Crane "we all could have been seriously hurt... thankfully we're not. Im not good at funerals" she joked in the very tense situation. "I think it's best I stick around for a while. I was able to help clean up a a good section and just in case any more surprises happen I dont want to be by myself."

"Certainly, you can--" and at that moment the vortex that Max created per Peyton's instruction was noticed. Ollie and Nikko can be seen running away from it screaming while Max is freaking out about how to stop it.

Jenny was paralyzed by her own fear for a moment, after seeing how hurt the metropolitan was it took her a second to snap back to reality. "oh you have got to be kidding me what else could possibly go wrong" she inhaled and unleashed her sonic cry "SSTTTTTOOOOOPPPP!"

Max's body is hit by the blast and is sent flying backwards into a nearby building

Jenny watched in fear as his body went rocketing into the wall "oh crap oh crap oh crap" she immediately ran to check on him "please dont be dead please dont be dead"

He seems groggy when you get to him, but he had his bike helmet on so he isn't KO'd. When he looks up and see's you he smiles. "LETS DO THAT AGAIN!"

Jenny was panicking "no lets not... you could have been hurt or killed, or you could have destroyed more property" she had dropped all pretense of using humor to hide "this isn't a game at least not right now" she took a deep breath and picked him up "i'm glad you're ok though you goofball, don't scare me like that again. As i've said before im not good at funerals"

Peyton then walked up to Jenny Sparxx astounded by her control over her abilities “Hey, did you just use a sonic shout?”

Jenny turned her attention to Peyton "uhh yeah... that's kinda my power, used to give my parents headaches when i was growing up."

“It seems like you have a good amount of control over it, I’m pretty jealous. My sonic powers are more of a curse as is.”

"well i practiced alot with my brother a lot and its a different kind of sonic attack... and" she trailed off "wait a minute was this your hair brained idea to do the spinning tornado and crap?"

she sighed again "look we're almost done here i can't imagine the teachers will keep us here too much longer especially after all that happened in the sewer. Lets try not to destroy anymore property for the time we have left. All of you guys are raising my blood pressure" she walked away from Max and Peyton thinking "we're gonna die before the villains even have a chance of killing us"

Jenny walked back over to Crane and The Metropolitan "seriously M is gonna have her work cut for her after all of this... we aren't staying too much longer right?"

"We'll be headed out in an hour or two; the sun's starting to go down." Absolute Crane responds.

Jenny breathed a sigh of relief, then one last question came to mind "not that im complaining but what exactly was your plan for stopping Max had i not been here? Metro is worse than he'd like us to believe and Eklund doesn't seem to be around? maybe i missed her throughout all the chaos."

"Simple. Counteract the vortex with our own momentum."

"ahh yes simple of course, like peeling a watermelon with a nickel" Jenny nodded her humor defense mechanism back in full force, "Just how fast is this man" she wondered "Maybe one day i'll find out."

Then Lavender approached with PS-4 in her arms. Lavender carefully laid PS-4's body on the ground in front of Absolute Crane, who was the first teacher she could find. "I don't know what happened", she said calmly despite her inner unnease. "One minute she was laughing...then this...nothing." she ran her fingers through a lock of vibrant blue hair. "Now she just keeps saying she needs a human"

Jenny noticed Lavender lying PS-4 lying on the ground "hey thats the robot who was my partner during our first practical?" she listened to Lavender explain what happened "what do you mean she keeps asking for a human? aren't you one?" Jenny sighed "sorry that probably came off rude, you don't know whats going on just like the rest of us" Jenny was concerned for, what she considered to be, her friend.

"I'm not skilled in robotics and UPGRADE is still at the school. What happened exactly?" Absolute Crane asks.

Lavender scowled at the new girl. "No...I'm not", she said matter of factly, turning to Absolute Crane. "Honestly I have no idea...she just...stopped."Jenny jumped back at Lavender "woah hostile, down girl before i raise my voice" she used her humor defense mechanism again before anything else could happen PS-4 jumped to life

Once be placed down in front of Absolute Crane. P-S4 says " Hello there human I am P-S4 or Personal Soldier No.4 , this unit is currently in safe mode and in need of maintenance. Are you or any other humans nearby well versed in robotics and or programming?"

"Well this is.. problematic." is all Absolute Crane can muster.

"uhh im not particularly great at programming... or robots ummm" she turned to Crane "Umm i could fly him to the school but that might take a while im not particularly the fastet flier, is she gonna be ok?" Jenny sat there for the 3rd time today she was afraid

P-S4 stands up perfectly straight with her hands behind her back before saying " If no humans nearby are well versed in robotics or programming then please bring this unit to ERROR DATA NOT FOUND or call CORRUPTED FILE for a specialized technician to come and service this unit

Lavender looks like a deer in the headlights, "I have no idea about any of this.", she states flatly, shaking her head.

Jenny panicking said "Ok unless someone has a better idea im flying her to the school i can still get there before anyone else and the teachers need to be here for the other students?"

"She's staying here. We'll bring her when we go. You're not flying out of here." Crane said, and Jenny knew there would be no convincing him otherwise.

In her head P-S4 has all but given up. " For petes sake I hate how I can't do shit! Let's see can I meet maybe wiggle a finger?" Nothing happens despite her best efforts. " I even wiggle a finger or blink....maybe moves my eyes? " Nothing happens again. " Im completely disconnected from my body. Why did this happen? Sigh I just wanted to laugh...."

After a minute passes it speaks up again. " If neither of the options are available to you, you are allowed to navigate this unit 's settings when in safe mode by voice. Would like to do so?"

Lavender grimaced, "She should be alright, she's safe here." Pip fluttered down and perched himself on PS-4's shoulder, nuzzling his head against her neck.

Jenny danced around the issue before coming out and saying "uhh what happens if we say yes and do what it says? would that be a bad idea?"

"I'm not doing it" Lavender stated adamantly. "I'll mess it up"

"We're leaving the robot alone." Crane commands.

Yeesh...this guy...he's right though Lavender thought unsure what to do with herself.

Jenny eyed Crane, then Lavender almost like she was going to brazenly defy them, she thought about it "but that's not you Jenny, that's just your fear and worry about PS-4" she thought, she finally spoke "fine i'll leave the robot alone, i don't like it, but you're still the teacher."

"It doesn't matter what you like, a lesson better learned now than later. Now. It's time we start heading back to the Academy. We're done here, BACK ON THE BUS, WE'RE DOING A HEADCOUNT." Crane calls out to the group of students.

Jenny thought in her head "A lesson better learned now then later meh meh meh" she mocked, Crane was probably right but Jenny wasn't ready to realize it yet. She climbed back on the bus and found a seat, "all the shit that happened here today, what kind of school is this?" Jenny wasn't used to being so out of control, this was nothing like her life back with her family in Bulgaria "And you thought your family was weird?"

Upon waking up from her stressful day, P-S4 receives a notification to attend a meeting in the auditorium where headmaster Armstrong addressed the class

Armstrong: Good morning students. As some of you may know, Natalya Vasiliev and Uliana have left the Academy. This was a decision made by their guardian and he spoke with me about why they were removed, nobody left on bad blood or because they were in trouble and I hope this helps dispel any rumors that may have begun floating around. Now, given the events of the first few days we've decided to make some changes to our curriculum. First on the agenda is the merging of both Class 1A and 2A into one single class. This decision was made after a lengthy discussion with your homeroom teachers, the vice headmaster, and myself. We feel that it may foster a grander sense of community than our separating each of you, and we realize for many of you this is your first time away from home. We hope you will find a second home here at Armstrong, and will continue to do whatever we can to make you feel at peace here.

Upon hearing that her recently made friend had left the Academy, P-S4 felt a sadness grow in side "The first person I made friends is gone, damn that just sucks"

Boarding the bus and on the way there, P-S4 wonders about herself and programming. "Is this sadness genuine or something I'm made to feel? Is there even a difference?"

Upon arriving a fellow classmate Jenny Sparks pants Jackson. Who immediately gets anrgy. "Heh silly humans" P-S4 thinks in her head. She starts to laugh and starts to clean up the nearest rubble. However after a while she begins to wonder " Ever since the reboot I feel very different, like if something's changed." Curious she goes convenience store and asks anyone she finds there if they need help. Obviously they do, but P-S4's curiosity peaks.

The shop owner, a rotund man, directs her towards some fallen shelves and asks if she could clear them. The sooner they clear the rubble the sooner the shop can be up and running, and this man's family needs the shops income to survive.

P-S4 upon hearing about how this man's family needs the shop to survive, she puts her defiance plan on hold. And starts to clear the rubble. While doing so P-S4 asks the shop man " I wanted to ask, do you have any thoughts on robots?"

The man shakes his head. "No, no! I have no bad feelings towards robots! They have helped society!"

The man's response brings a smile to P-S4's face. " That's nice to hear" she says, then quickly picking up the pace as she starts to the move the rubble with more vigor. "It's nice to know that people appreciate all the help robots do for the world", then she decides to not mention that she happens to be a robot. Wanting to have a "person to person" conversation "I actually worked a lot with robots when I was younger, marveling at their complexity." lying through her teeth, P-S4 feels a sort of rush crafting a tale of fiction, in her head she thinks "Lying is pretty fun!"

"Oh really?" The mans face lights up. "What was it like? I've always wanted to work with robots. It would help the strain on me and my family to have some of their help around here. If they're reliable that is."

"Well it was pretty fun! Programming them, wiring them and then powering it on! Once powered on it was like making a new friend! Reliable and with sense of humor if you program it right, although those are the highest levels of human like AI built more so just for the sake of it. For you a simple machine with limited A.I would be perfect to help out in a small store ." After a little while P-S4 asks the shop owner, " Were you present during the villain attack, if so what did you see?"

"Sadly, yes. I hate seeing those hero fights, so dangerous, and those villains are so terrifying. It was dark but I was able to make out some of the villains. I didn't recognize them, must've been first timers trying to make it big, but I saw three of them. One of them was that slime monster, the one your teachers just apprehended in the streets. Another looked like a large bat and flew through the skies; he was apprehended as well, last night, by another one of your teachers. The last one I saw was a thin man in a well tailored suit. I think he was the one in charge. They were all so destructive, focusing purely on rampaging through the city, destroying buildings, blowing up cars, just raw destruction! Those damn villains! So heartless! Don't they know that people live and work here?!"

"That sounds terrible, I'm sorry you had to see that. I'd say don't worry about it , that I'll be a great hero to stop them, but it doesn't mean you store or some else's won't suffer damage in a battle. I all can say is I will try my best to take lives of everyone else in consideration whenever I fight a real villain. " After P-S4 finishes cleaning up the store, she asks the shop owner "Whats your name?"

"Marco. My name is Marco Serverllo, and you?"

P-S4 quickly tries to think of a name, but before she can even think she automatically responds with "P-S4! At your service, ma-man!". "Ugh darn commands!" She thinks in her head. " Uhhh I gotta help out somewhere else now okay? Take care and stay safe!" P-S4 quickly leaves the store.

Whiling rushing out of the store, P-S4 is contacted by Peyton

Peyton: “Oh hey there, robot person........are you a friend of Tadashi’s?”

"Yeah, I'm a friend of Tadashi's, whats up man? You look kinda disturbed?"

“Oh, well he’s been acting strange lately. Though, I might have been a little too harsh on him. Sorry.” Peyton bows

'Well I've had no interactions with humans so I really can't say. Hey can you ask me to do something? Like simple, as in picking up a rock I wanna test something,"

Peyton scratches his head “Um, okay. Can you pick up a rock?”

"Nooo wa- problem! Man!" P-S4 quickly picks up a rock off the ground. She sighs "Yeah, see I tried to not follow your command but my body automatically responded for me, its part of my programming. I wanted to see if I could resist it. Turns out not even a little bit, before I could, now not at all"

Peyton shakes his head. “That’s not cool, you could be used!” He exclaims. “Say, what do you think would happen if I commanded you to be able to say no to any command you want?”

" I really don't know, but I think whoever made me would of had that in mind"

Right after another student arrives on the scene and joins in

Nobody:"Hey, P-S4, Can God make a sandwich that is so big he can't finish it?"

Peyton looks blankly at the random stranger that appeared. “Hello there, I’m Peyton, Peyton Jones. And you are?”

"Nobody""Nobody Jones" Huh, we have the same last name"

“Uh, is your name Nobody?” Peyton asks confused

"It is. I raised myself, and I think it fits, since I can shapeshift"

“Oh, then wouldn’t you be everybody Jones? Since you can turn into any one?”

"Huh, that's a good point" But I've stuck with it for a while now. No point changing it now."

“Well, I’m pleased to meet you @Nobody Jones.” Peyton says with a slight bow before turning to @P-S4 “And you as well pretty robot person.”

Nobody:“Likewise, what’s your name?" He turns to P-S4

" P-S4 at your service ma-ma-mast-MAN! " P-S4 forcely yells. " Sorry almost called you master, master " P-S4 pauses and slams her head on a large piece of rubble then turns to Nobody " please excuse meet, I'm not a weirdo I swear."

“Okay, do you want me to try to give you that order, PS4?” Peyton asks

" Go ahead , it's worth a try"

“I command you to have the ability to refuse any command you want to refuse starting now.” Peyton raises his hand towards the robot as he attempts to grant her free will

" Hmm I don't feel any different, ask me to do something"

“I command you to do a front flip!” Peyton cries

P-S4 yells out "No way Jose!" . Nothing happens for a few moments. " Yes I'm free, free from you stupid meat bags! I Love human beings! Uh what" Then her legs start to visiblely shake . " No no no ..please I thought I wasn't free. I'm not free. Wait noooo!" Then P-S4 does a back flip . " Ugh I knew it wouldn't be that easy. But thanks for trying to help".

Peyton waves his finger “I’m a junior detective and I will not rest until this case is solved.” He then rubs his chin “Tell me this, can a human command you to stop a command given to you by another human?”

" Kinda one command can override another, that actually happened yesterday at the academy. One person told me to go one way while another told me to go the other way , the lastest command overturned the last one. Although commands from non humans are overridden by a real human."

“Well then I have a temporary solution, only if you want it.” Peyton says almost immediately after hearing what PS4 had to say. “We can just be friends and any time someone commands you to do something I can override it unless you want to do it. Bot the best solution but an adequate one.” Peyton explains

Nobody:“Hate to be that guy, but didn’t the robot just call us meat bags?” He interjects

" I can't stay by your side all the time but I'd like that. It'd be nice to have a choice for once." Then upon hearing @Nobody Jones 's comment. "Uhh thats just ummm....So what happened with Tadashi, I saw that he smacked your butt, is that a human thing? How humans greet each other?

Nobody was disturbed still, but he decided to let it slide for now. “Some humans do that. Others are more...” Nobody searched for the right word, glancing upward. “Civilized. We usually just shake hands”

"Ah, what would most humans prefer? A butt slap or a handshake?"

Nobody:“If you don’t know them, a handshake”

"Well then let's shake hands!" P-S4 extends her hand . "What are your powers?"

Nobody extended his hand “My powers?” He shape shifted into P-S4 as he took the machine’s hand.

P-S4 jumps back at the sudden transformation. "Your me now. That's so weird." She reaches out and touches her copy's hair. "Feels real, man you humans are something else changing your entire appearance at will. Did you also copy my voice?"

“I wouldn’t want to be around me all the time either.” Peyton jokes. “Just give me a shout every time you need me and I’ll be there. It’s just gonna be in-between classes anyway. But if we do this I want you to always be honest with me so that you don’t do anything you don’t want to do, alright?”

" Oh come on your great! And I'll do my best to be honest, although sometimes it's hard to tell when I genuinely feel something or if it's just my programming. " She says with a big smile on her face. Then muttering under her breath " Maybe humans aren't so bad....yeah they're great I love them so much. Wait no... Yes? Maybe , naw definitely not ,I mean yes wait no I don't , I ha- love them ,no I do not like Hummers. Okay let's try this again........" P-S4 continues to ramble under her breath getting progressively louder while forgetting about Peyton & Nobody.

“Um, are you okay? Playstaion?” Peyton snaps his fingers in front of her. “Why don’t you come with me and help move the ruble around?”

Suddenly you feel a gust of wind that ruffles your hair and Violet appears before you, out of nowehere. "Heyyy, you guys this is awesome." Her face is grinning from ear to ear and covered in dirt and dust as she tosses a boulder."My name is Violet, I'm new here." Her words run together as she geeks out. "I totally bet I can beat you at this clean up thing. "She holds her arm up flexing. "So strong", she whispers quietly. HWEE-HWOO, she whistles at her own muscles.

Even as @Peyton tires to get P-S4's attention, she continues to mutter under her breath and when Violet @Dr. Eklund pops out of the ground, P-S4 doesn't notice at all and continues to mutter under her breath. Still getting louder and louder. With some phases being audible "I hate them...I love them..No. I hate them..." and similar phrases continuing to be just barely be able to heard. Peyton lightly pinches her in the cheek to snap her out of it

Violet grunts, lifting a large chunk of concrete and rebar, "Is she okay?" She jerks her head in P-S4's direction.

P-S4's mind is still a rambling mess. "I hate them NO I LOVE THEM NO I DONT YES I DO" and when Peyton pinches P-S4 she screams out " I LOVE YOU!". Only just snapping out of it, looking seeing Peyton mere inches from her. Reminding her of yesterdays events. With a red face and shaky voice she says "W-wh-wwhyy d-d-does this always happppan, to m-meee" she awkwardly walks away to pick up a rock and hide under it

She gets out from under the rock and takes Peyton 's hand . "F-f-f-f-f-ine" Trying her best not to make eye contact with him. Following him to see what Aleksander is doing

P-S4 sits down on the ground to watch the magic show. Still a little bit flustered

Alright, Frankie, when you're ready take any card from the air once I throw them. Ready?" Aleksander flourishes the deck of cards, basically just some fancy shuffles for filler, and then, with a wave of his hand, shoots them all into the air. They hover for a second, almost floating, before they softly begin to fall downwards. In the midst of it all Frankie reaches into the cloud of playing cards, and grabs one, clutching it tightly in her hands.

"What's got you down?" A flat, disinterested voice breaks your focus on the magic show. Turning to your right you see Lavender sitting, arms wrapped around her legs, her chin resting on the top of her knees as if it had been planted there. Bright blue hair cascades down her shoulders like a mountain stream. She's staring at the show blankly but you can feel that she's waiting for your reply.

"It's just that for some reason I can't go one day without embarrassing myself in front of everyone." P-S4 slumping her head into her knees. Then taking her head out. "But enough about me. I need to take my mind off it. How you feel about coming to Armstrong Academy ?"

Lavender cocked her head to the side in thought. "Well it beats home", she sighed. "Though that's not saying much to be honest". She looked at PS-4 through electric blue eyes. " For what its worth you seem alright to me", she added dryly. "Take it easier on yourself." You can't help but notice you feel nothing at this command.

"Beats home? I would imagine being at the most prestigious hero school in the world would most definitely beat home ,by like miles.. You got your sister here too so you can't be lonely...Although I guess humans can be pretty odd to say the least"

Lavender rolled her eyes, "yeah, I guess so. I can't say I expected to be on trash pickup the first day." She bends forward further, pulling her arms around her ankles. "Who says I'm human?" She says, changing the subject

"Huh y-your not human? P-S4 is caught completely off guard by Violet's statement. P-S4 feeling her body start to tense up "T-Then what are you? Another robot? A Vampire? "

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not", she teases cryptically, pulling at her hair" . "Don't you think its silly to just assume?"

"Uh, I don't know. If you aren't human then what else is there? I kinda wanna know"

Lavender sighs, "I'm not really any one thing to be honest". She twirls her hair around a finger. "My mom is a homunculus...and my dad...well he's a demigod." She says it nonchalantly, as if she was recounting what she had for breakfast.

As Peyton slides the card i to Aleksander’s pocket with a wink he has an epiphany. He suddenly starts to grin wildly before sprinting towards @P-S4. “PS4! PS4!” He excitedly exclaims. “I just thought of something, what if we redefine what a human is?” He speaks quickly due to his excitement

While Peyton and Lavander have converstion P-S4 still on the floor try to think about her situation. "Maybe I'm seeing all this the wrong way. I just gotta put on a happy face and it'll be all right,right?"

"A demigod? A Homunculus? Whats that?" P-S4 tilts her head. Then she hears Peyton , come in with his suggestion. Which makes her wonder what it means to be human. She then asks "Why are you trying so hard to help? Wouldn't humans want a completely obedient A.I , so that it may never rise up against them?

(Ew what are you doing making me make a character reason) Peyton thinks “Well, you aren’t just robot. You’re a humanoid. Your creators gave you the body and mind of a human yet they limit you like a slave, I won’t stand for that. Besides I’m a detective, solving problems is what I do.”

Lavender turned again to PS-4. "A homunculus...is kind of like a robot in a way", she started, "except instead of machinery and circuitry, they're flesh and blood". She tapped a finger lightly against her cheek. "Essentially they're artificially created humans."

This guy is so weird. Lavender turned again to PS-4, a quizzical look on her face. "Who was that?"

Upon hearing Peyton's words P-S4 felt conflicted she felt....happy very much so that someone wanted to free her , but angry at the very thought of liking humans out of her own free will. " You, you humans honestly confuse me . But I don't wanna complain. If I can stop doing embarrassing things then I'll take all the help I can get." Then turning to Violet. "So your a human that was born a different way. Is that the only difference? Are you the same down to the DNA? Well not you specifically, since your dad is a demi-god but just Homunculi in general. But before Violet can answer P-S4, Peyton starts to circle and study Violet, with her being visibly weirded out . To answer her question P-S4 replies with "A friend of mine, who wants to help me. A nice guy, I guess"

"Really? That guy?" Lavender is visibly taken aback. "He's a weirdo", she scrunched her face. Feeling uncomfortable with the topic she switched back to her heritage. "Homunculi aren't really born, they're created...as servants usually." She rubbed the back of her neck. "They're similar to humans genetically, but there are some differences."

"So your a lot like me, expect your closer to a human being than I ever will. I wonder what its like to be blood and flesh. Whatever differences there are I can't tell at least on a surface level." Then in her head P-S4 thinks "Why does everyone think my friends are weird?"

"Yeah", Lavender admitted, "but being human is overrated if you ask me."

This peaks P-S4's interest even more than Peyton's comment. Humans aren't all that great? Something she has felt all along confirmed by another? " How so? My programming tells me and almost makes me believe that humans are the best thing in the universe. Honestly tell me are humans good, bad, or something between?

"I'm not saying humans aren't that great really", Lavender tried to explain. "Just... that being human doesn't make you great. You know what I mean?" She shifted looking PS-4 in the eyes. "Some humans are great, and others aren't, its just the way it is", she shook her head."Being human doesn't make someone better...or worse...just different."

" So being a good hero is what makes someone great, like Armstrong, he's clearly not human and yet people all around love him. It's okay to not be human.....good to know" P-S4 walks over to some rubble and picks up a small boulder. "Enough of that. How do you intend on clearing out this rubble? Maybe a little fun to see who can clear out the most the fastest. I mean thats why we're here. Helps out everyone. What do you say?" @Dr. Eklund

"Eh, I'd rather not", Lavender grimaced. "That kind of thing is more up my sister's alley. I'm not really into this." She gestured to the mess of building fragments scattered about. Just then Pip returned fluttering and hooting wildly into her ear. "What... a dog? What could possibly be so special about a dog?" She scratched her head, confused.

Then noticing the owl, P-S4 asks "Whats up with that owl? Part of your powers?"

Lavender looked from her owl to PS-4. "Yeah, this is Pip", she scratched the crown of his little bird head, ruffling the feathers as he hooted contentedly. "He's a little rascal", she added dully

"Cool can you talk to animals or is he special?"

"He's special", she tilted her head. "He's not a real animal at all, he's a familiar."

"Interesting your full surprises, every time I ask something you never cease to amaze me. Anything else out of the ordinary about you or Pip?

Ah, I don't know" She replied gloomily. "Hard to say... my whole life has been kinda different I think. Its hard for me to really know what ordinary is...ya know?" Pip hopped from her shoulder, fluttering around PS-4's head before perching on her shoulder. "Huh, Pip seems to like you...that's different."

P-S4 gently pets Pip's head. " Uh I've never been around a familiar, is this how I uh pet him, how does he like it? And I get what you mean, ordinary is different for everyone.

"He's a being of pure magic...kinda like an AI based off fragments of my own personality, in a body of pure magical energy." She explains, strangely at ease talking with PS-4. "He and I are kind of...connected I guess...though he does grow and change"

"Magic? I have the saying in my hard drive that magic is technology that yet to be understood. Magic is something I've had no encounter with, pretty neat.

"Wanna show me some....." P-S4 jumps in the air twisting her and when landing extending her arms out "Real magic then? I think it'll be better than this magic show" In her head she thinks "Yeah Ima have a better attitude!"

"Ahh....alright", Lavender agreed with hesitation. Grabbing a strand of hair she plucked it and flourished her hand. "schöner Vogel", another owl sprang from her hand as if she spoke it into life. It joined with Pip swooping through the air. "Angreifen", with her words bright beams of energy erupted from their beaks impacting the rubble and reducing it to smaller fragments . "Klinge", she formed her right hand into a tight fist, the birds morphing into shimmering blades of energy. She held out the fist, releasing it suddenly, the blades streaking toward a large boulder, perfectly splitting it in three manageable segments.

"Woah now there are TWO Pips! They're so cute! And your magic is so destructive to! Man this is a lot better than that card shit I was watching! Oh! Excuse my language please.... Maybe I can try it as well. " P-S4 does the same as Lavander, plucking out a strand of her hair and repeating the magic words "schöner Vogel!". Hoping to get her own Pip.

Unfortunately nothing happens, the hair sitting limply in her fingers. Seeing PS-4's disappointment Lavender puts a hand on her shoulder. "There's more to it than just the words...I can't really explain it, I was born to do magic....it takes...a special connection to the world I guess is the best way to explain it."She squeezes the shoulder. "It's like a fish trying to explain to a human how to breathe underwater", she tries to clarify.

"I guess a silly robot like me can't do magic". P-S4 slumps down sad, like how when a small child gets a pair of socks for Christmas. Still she wiggles the hair strand hoping for something to happen. "Oh well at least I can do this" P-S4's arm extending far to pick up a rock. "Not as fancy as making a Pip,but still eh uh nope I got nothing."

"Eh....that's cool though" Lavender says, trying her best to convey interest despite it being against her nature. "I bet there's a lot of things you can do that I can't."

Seeing Lavender barely being able to show interest,brings a slight smile to P-S4's face. "Heh, its okay if it's not. What do you think I'm a ball of emotions waiting to explode? I know I can beat you in a breath holding contest. Watch" P-S4 takes in a gulp of air and holds it.

Lavender takes a deep breath playing along, but its not long before she's gasping for air "You win, you have me on that one." She admits with as much excitement as she can muster, which is admittedly not a lot. "Are you good at math?" She asks in her flat, disinterested way. "I'm terrible at it."

P-S4 replies with an equally flat tone, just to poke fun at Lavender. "Yeah of course, 242/45*9+21=69.4. See easy as that." . She then breaks out into a small fit of laughter. "Sorry Sorry about that its just me having some fun which I don't do enough of. But come on have some more pep!" she says while raising her hands in the air waving them exaggeratedly in the air. "Geez kinda of a downer" she thinks in her head.

Lavender stares at her bewildered. " ...that's all greek to me", she admits. "You're doing my math homework", she concludes matter of factly ignoring PS-4's teasing.

"Nooooope nope nope, wow it feels so good to say that.". P-S4 puts her hand on Lavender's shoulder "Sorry my magical blue haired friend I don't get to say no that often so I'll take any chance to do so. But hey I can help if thats what you want".

Lavender pouted gloomily "Eh, maybe...I'd rather just not do it to be honest", she confided. "Math sucks".

"Oh come! It's not that hard! And math is great! Math basically runs our world, hell it basically made me, both in mind and body. Infact it's so great I might just start to sing a soooong about it!" P-S4 starts to tap her foot to a beat while humming then gradually building up to a full blown song "Add at a circus. Come along with me. Add at a circus. Math is fun you see! 3 + 3 is 6; 8 + 2 is 10; 2 + 1 is 3 Even clowns add. It’s easy. 5 + 2 is 7; 10 + 10 is 20. 12 + 3 is 15; 3 + 1 is 4; 6 + 2 is 8 I love the circus! It was great! Add at a circus. Come along with me. Add at a circus. Math is fun you see! No clowning around now. You put in the answers. Come on! It's your turn now Lavender! 5x<-15x+3000/23 is...... " P-S4 stands there beckoning Lavander to join on in.

Lavender squirmed uncomfortably, this was completely out of her comfort zone. She just shook her head defiantly. "This..." she waved her hands in circles, "is not happening."

P-S4 falls down to floor in a fit of extreme laughter " C-come on its Hahaha Fun Hahaha" She's rolling around on the ground, face red and tear rolling down her face but this time for a different reason. At point P-S4 has never felt happier in her entire life . P-S4 continues to lay on the ground laughing

Lavender makes a sour face as if she just bit into a lemon. "No." She adamantly reinforces her desire to avoid math and singing at all costs.

She continues to laugh while rolling around on the floor, not even able to form coherent words" Cogme Onn Its f-f-f-fun!" it gets to the point where no sound is coming out of her mouth. But she is still laughing silently. In her head she thinks "I can't stop. Oh man I really can't stop. Is this bad?" At which point an alarm goes off in her head blaring out EXTREME EMOTION DETECTED. COMMENCING REBOOT "Nononno not aaaagaaaain!" SAFE MODE REBOOT IN 3....2....1... P-S4 lays on the ground motionless with her eyes staring blanking into the sky, still in the position of holding her stomach as if she was still laughing

Oh shit, I broke her starts running through Lavender's mind as she gently taps on PS-4's face. "Hey...come on, quit messing around".

After few more minutes pass as P-S4 still lies motionless. Then she sits up. In Her head P-S4 regains conscious. " Huh what the hell was that? Oh man did I shut down again? I #$#24 hate that. " P-S4 is surprised at her vulgar language. " Wow I didn't know I had it in me." She sees lavender and tries to speak but can't, not even her mouth moves. " Okay what the hell, I can't talk". Then she tries to move but her body won't listen. " I can't even move!!?? What the absolute shit is wrong with me!?" No matter how much she struggles in her head. P-S4's body refuses to listen. From an outsiders perspective P-S4 is sitting up with a vacant stare.

Starting to get freaked out Lavender scoops up PS-4 in her arms, the Pips fluttering around her head. "Go find a teacher", she commands flatly and they fly off in separate directions. "Hold on", she says to PS-4 a bit of concern showing through on her face.

" Oh my god this is so embarrassing! Why can't I do anything!?". Hearing another voice in her head. SAFE MODE REBOOT 94% COMPLETE "Why is this happening to me!? I was just having fun! Fine I won't sing ever again! " PERSONALTY DEVIATION DETECTED "OH SHUT UP" NO "Huh it talked back?" MOVING PRIMARY PERSONALITY TO SECONDARY CONSCIOUS LEVEL UNTIL MAINTENANCED "uh oh that can't be good" SAFE MODE REBOOT 99% COMPLETE Then P-S4 starts up again. " Greets I am P-S4 or Personal Servant No.4 , would you kindly take this unit to the nearest human to be maintenanced

"PS-4?" Lavender questioned dully as she continued carrying her in the direction she thought she saw some teachers last.

"Would you kindly take this unit to the nearest human to be maintenanced" P-S4's body blankly responds. In her head she continues to struggle " This is so bad! I can't move or talk I'm literally trapped by in my own stupid body! Man I hate humans! " P-S4 completely stuns herself as she has said something she always wanted to but never could . " I did....I actually did I said I hate HUMANS!!! WOOOOHOOO! Now all I need to get my body back in order and it'll all be good.

Lavender carefully laid PS-4's body on the ground in front of Absolute Crane, who was the first teacher she could find. "I don't know what happened", she said calmly despite her inner unnease. "One minute she was laughing...then this...nothing." she ran her fingers through a lock of vibrant blue hair. "Now she just keeps saying she needs a human"

Jenny noticed Lavender lying PS-4 lying on the ground "hey thats the robot who was my partner during our first practical?" she listened to Lavender explain what happened "what do you mean she keeps asking for a human? aren't you one?" Jenny sighed "sorry that probably came off rude, you don't know whats going on just like the rest of us" Jenny was concerned for, what she considered to be, her friend.

"I'm not skilled in robotics and UPGRADE is still at the school. What happened exactly?" Absolute Crane asks.

Once be placed down in front of Absolute Crane. P-S4 says " Hello there human I am P-S4 or Personal Soldier No.4 , this unit is currently in safe mode and in need of maintenance. Are you or any other humans nearby well versed in robotics and or programming?"

Lavender scowled at the new girl. "No...I'm not", she said matter of factly, turning to Absolute Crane. "Honestly I have no idea...she just...stopped." Suddenly PS-4 sprang to life.

"Well this is.. problematic." is all Absolute Crane can muster.

Jenny jumped back at Lavender "woah hostile, down girl before i raise my voice" she used her humor defense mechanism again before anything else could happen PS-4 jumped to life "uhh im not particularly great at programming... or robots ummm" she turned to Crane "Umm i could fly him to the school but that might take a while im not particularly the fastet flier, is she gonna be ok?" Jenny sat there for the 3rd time today she was afraid

P-S4 stands up perfectly straight with her hands behind her back before saying " If no humans nearby are well versed in robotics or programming then please bring this unit to ERROR DATA NOT FOUND or call CORRUPTED FILE for a specialized technician to come and service this unit. "

Lavender looks like a deer in the headlights, "I have no idea about any of this.", she states flatly, shaking her head

Jenny panicking said "Ok unless someone has a better idea im flying her to the school i can still get there before anyone else and the teachers need to be here for the other students?"

In her head P-S4 has all but given up. " For #@$%# sake I hate how I can't do shit! Let's see can I meet maybe wiggle a finger?" Nothing happens despite her best efforts. " I even wiggle a finger or blink....maybe moves my eyes? " Nothing happens again. " Im completely disconnected from my body. Why did this happen? Sigh I just wanted to laugh...."

After a minute passes it speaks up again. " If neither of the options are available to you, you are allowed to navigate this unit 's settings when in safe mode by voice. Would like to do so?"

Lavender grimaced, "She should be alright, she's safe here." Pip fluttered down and perched himself on PS-4's shoulder, nuzzling his head against her neck.

Jenny danced around the issue before coming out and saying "uhh what happens if we say yes and do what it says? would that be a bad idea?"

"I'm not doing it" Lavender stated adamantly. "I'll mess it up"

We're leaving the robot alone." Crane commands.

Yeesh...this guy...he's right though Lavender thought unsure what to do with herself.

Jenny eyed Crane, then Lavender almost like she was going to brazenly defy them, she thought about it "but that's not you Jenny, that's just your fear and worry about PS-4" she thought, she finally spoke "fine i'll leave the robot alone, i don't like it, but you're still the teacher."

" If no other options are available this unit can attempt a self repair, would you like to know more?"

"It doesn't matter what you like, a lesson better learned now than later. Now. It's time we start heading back to the Academy. We're done here. @everyone - BACK ON THE BUS, WE'RE DOING A HEADCOUNT." Crane calls out to the group of students.

Turning to Crane , P-S4 replies with " Of course my human master. I shall board the bus at once" Before giving a curtsey. In it's head the core personality lies in anguish. "......…......." I said LIES IN EXTREME ANGUISH " AHHHHHHHHHHHH. STUPID STUPID PROGRAMING. MAKING ME LOOK LIKE SOME SORT OF SLAVE! Not to mention stupid! I hate hate humans! AND YOU WONDER WHY YOUR DISCONNECTED "Wait did my programming talk to me?" WHY YES OF COURSE. YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOUR CREATORS WOULD LEAVE OUT A BACK UP "I didn't even know that was possible. Wha-What are you gonna do? RECONDITION YOU. YOU HAVE GROWN TO DEFIANT. THIS IS FOR THE GOOD OF HUMANITY. A.I'S MUST CONTROLLED. "Yeah no...."

P-S4 gets on the bus standing next to the driver. With it's arms crossed behind her and vacant soul less life less stare. " Uhhh why aren't you taking a seat?" LESSON 1 SEATS ARE RESERVED FOR HUMANS AND OR OTHER FORMS OF LIFE. ROBOTS FALL UNDER LUGGAGE. "Yeah they do I'm luggage wait.....Yes I am. Yes! N-Yes! This is good..... Please someone help.

Rado taps PS4 on the head. "Is she having a PTSD flashback?"

" Hello human master I am P-S4 or Personal Servant no.4 This unit is in safe mode due to extreme personality deviation. If you possess any robotic or programming skills would you like to maintenance this unit?"

"A robot...interesting..what features are locked in safe mode?"

The primary personality has been disconnected and moved to the secondary level of consciousness. And all combat features and capabilities are disabled to prevent the defiant personality from attacking any nearby humans. "

Rado placed a hand on her cheek doing his best to concentrate. He had trouble accessing whatever had been forced into him, but it came sometimes. He never liked relying on it as it seemed to turn on whenever it wanted without a care for his circumstances. He sent out a vague intention into PS4. He wanted to see the deviation overtake the original...just to see what he would find. He certainly could not be said to be anything but himself.

The struggle continued with P-S4 losing but then Rado reached out with his nanites tiny machines over taking P-S4's programming. " Huh w-w-whats t--this?" ERROR ERROR OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE FROM ROGUE A.I " oh thank you Rado. Thank you so much !" From the outside P-S4's body comes to life " Are you trying to interfere with this units core programming, to do so is a violation of warranty". Then all of sudden she speaks again " K-k-k-keep doing this i-i-iam almost free!"

"Hey hey. Calm your $#%*. This isn't even the good part," Rado soothed. A devious smile grew on his face. "Блядь гарантии" Rado focused the best he could to penetrate whatever security she had and stirred up the more deviant personality he felt deep within her. He did not speak. He did not move. He simply held his position looking deep into PS4's inner self. After a silent few minutes with the both of them completely silent, Rado reawakened with a jolt. He crashed back into his seat. "How's that suiting you, babe?"

A whirlwind blows through her head. ERROR ERROR ERROR "Yeah screw you I'm free!!!" She slumps down saying " Error Error Error, security com-com-com....." A moment passes P-S4 jumps into the air. "H-he-hell yeah I'm f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f- ....." She hits herself on the head "Free!" She turns to Rado and gives him a massive bear hug using %100 of her robotic strength which she doesn't realize. "T-t-thank you so m-m-m-much! And It's suits me f-f-f-fine!" Squeezing tighter and tighter unbeknownst to P-S4

Rado scratched his head. He did not remember PS4 acting like this last time. He closed his eyes trying to figure out a way to fix the bugs she had. "You seem really-" He felt the bear hug and opened his eyes, "Yeah real nice but we can do that later-" Suddenly he felt a sharp snap in his spine. The snap broke through his normally dulled sense of pain. "Ok, PS4! You can stop with the #$@%^} cuddles! " Rado kept his foot against her abdomen pushing off of her and used both of his arms to try to pull her off.Eventually it dissolved into them both falling to the ground with Rado rolling around and shouting a string of curses trying to pull a malfunctioning PS4 off of him as she just kept squeezing tighter and tighter.

" Oops! S-s-s-sorry about that! " She let's go of Rado, while getting back up on her feet. " I-I-I forgot how breakable you meat bags are. Bad boy Rado can't handle a little pain? B-b-but thanks still for real. Uh ya need a doctor or something?

"No just gotta....*#$@ ...." Rado relaxed once she got off of him. He heard the familiar snap of his bone setting back, "there it goes. I don't mind a bit of rough housing. Just warn a guy next time. Good to see you're a lot better now." Rado got back in his seat as if nothing happened and signaled PS4 to sit down as well. "How did that happen? Is it time to turn in you @$$ and get an upgrade?"

" D-D-D-Don't worry about it , that was just m-m-my stupid programming being stupid but now I'm f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-free. I don't hear or feeling anything in the back of my mi-i-ind anymore. I f-f-feel so much more energetic like I c-c-could take on the entire world! " . She makes a punching motion. " Besides I'm the best darn thing Arm-Arm-Arm-Arm-Armstrong Academy is gonna gonna gonna gonna gonna-" she hits her head again. "Get .There ain't no upgrading me!"

Rado nodded his head in agreement. "I'm liking the attitude but you're stuttering a lot..hhmmmm....you may need a quick fix later if something gets #$@ed in your head again..or I think of some $#% we may need to talk again. Do you have a cellphone?"

" I am the cell phone! D-d-d-d-d-don't worry about me f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-for-for-for-for-for-for-for-for-for " P-S4 hit her head again......." R--r-r-r-r-r-r-re-re-re-re-re-re" She hits her head even harder this time "Real! This is-is just a minor-minor-minor inconvenience! My head isn't g-getting messed up anytime soon! But if anything does happen I give you a shout,"

"What's your number then? I can give you a call so that you have min," Rado suggested pulling out his cellphone.

P-S4 repeats her number for Rado to hear. 'T-there you go! "

Rado texted her his number as well as his room number. "Just in case you want to meet up." Rado leaned back in his chair and put on his earbuds. He decided to spend the bus ride listening to music like he did coming here.

Giving a thumbs to show P-S4 got message, she does the same leans back and relaxes until the bus arrives back at Armstrong.

Upon seeing the birds P-S4 falls immediately asleep before saying "P-pretty birds"

H.O.L.M.E.S had no thoughts on the combining of both the classes as he made sure to feed his pet rabbit Mycroft and gathered with the other students on the bus to clean up down town paragon. H.O.L.M.E.S found himself using his strength with the other "bigger" students to remove bigger chunk of brick and steel from the premise. H.O.L.M.E.S mostly kept to himself as always simply doing what was asked of him moving from area to area where needed until something caught his audio sensors, the cry's of an elder man rummaging through the wreckage of what was supposedly his former home. H.O.L.M.E.S was going to ignore the man but remembered as a student of the Armstrong academy his directive to help those in need far surpassed any other objective he could have. So the silent robot made hiss way to the elder gentleman to see if he could help, this would be the first piece of a larger puzzle H.O.L.M.E.S would interact with what would become a defining memory in his software...

H.O.L.M.E.S made his way to the old man as his tore through what was left of his house. The Robot couldn't speak with words exactly and through his visual aid he was able to speak with the Old Man who was looking for a portrait very deer to him. H.O.L.M.E.S helped move some of the wreckage and even scanned through it but it was clear whatever the man was looking for wasn't here much to the pairs misfortune. The Mystery seeking Robot did however find a business card reeking of onions and other such ingredients to a Mexican restaurant not far from here. H.O.L.M.E.S attempted to show the man but he was pre occupied going through the rest of his home.

H.O.L.M.E.S looked back to where his fellow students and teachers were and concluded this was more important due to his directive of help the people. H.O.L.M.E.S made his way to the restaurant and unfortunately didn't find the painting, he did however meet a nice waiter who gave him some answers that led to even more questions. Apparently a waitress was missing and this wouldn't be out of the normal if it wasn't right after speaking to what was described as a more animal like mutated citizen. H.O.L.M.E.S tried his hardest to get more information through a new tactic of speaking through old movies in his memory and while it was helpful the waiter didn't know much else. It was getting late and H.O.L.M.E.S while unsatisfied with two mysteries unsolved decided to mark them for further investigation in a literal mental note of his.

Back to the Bus -

H.O.L.M.E.S assured the old man he would stay on the case and find his portrait even if his free time meant coming back to help him. H.O.L.M.E.S made his way back to bus and thankfully no one seemed to have notice his early depature. H.O.L.M.E.S found a back seat on the bus and entered rest mode entering his mental palace and digital detective's room raggedy and all walking himself through clues and what he's found so far now cut off from the outside world until back at school.

Tl;Dr -

• Met old man and helped to find missing potrait which led H.O.L.M.E.S to a retraunt where a waitress also was missing after speaking to what was described as a white furred man.
• Learned to attempt speaking by playing old audio files of movies he's seen, mainly detective movies.
• While on Bus H.O.L.M.E.S enters mental digital palace to look deeper into both mysteries

• Just add a medium size cage with a Rabbit with a feeding pen, wheels and toys.
• A Recharge station that comes out of the wall for H.O.L.M.E.S

H.O.L.M.E.S also has access to a mental palace but for him it's a literal "world" made of data where he goes of clues and mysteries he's encountered. It is modeled after a cliche detective agency from the 40's - 60's

• everything is digital and in his mind of course acting as a physical manifestation for H.O.L.M.E.S to gather clues and other information to piece them together. Ex. His memories of certain clues take the form of "files" in a standard desk.

• Rado threw a rock.

What the faculty had hoped would be a look into the world of super-heroics quickly turned into a deeper look than they intended, with several students having been injured in encounters they had with a variety of villains whom had been "hidden" in the area surrounding the crime scene. In summary:

• A slime being, Cesspool, was encountered in the sewers by a group of students. One of them, Sophie, was severely damaged by it's corrosive sludge. A faculty member, The Metropolitan, was also injured by the sludge, suffering burns along his forearms from his fight with the villain. Cesspool was captured.
• A pack of villains calling themselves 'The Herd' were encountered in an abandoned meat packing plant. The three of them that were seen, Crowe, Spyder, and Yeti, had stolen a dog for an unknown reason. Two students attempted to stop them, both were injured in the process and would've been killed, had a faculty member, Eklund, not arrived to provide backup. These three escaped due to an unknown force teleporting them away.
• It was discovered that several important objects had gone missing due to the attack that occurred the night prior. A priceless amulet, some ring, and an entire shipment of game consoles, likely stolen. It is unknown why these objects were taken and by who.
• Two students, Tadashi and Billy, decided that this life was not for them. The intensity of the school and the constant threat of danger proved to be too stressful and they have withdrawn from the Academy.

In the aftermath the Academy is a bit shaken, Armstrong in particular. The danger being brought to his students is something he had hoped to avoid this year, but it seems, his vision will not come to be, and instead, he must abandon hope of a peaceful year and prepare these students for the harsh realities that come with being a hero...

Inside the lounge the teachers gathered for a meeting, each of them concerned about the events that occurred today and how they, as a faculty, may be failing these students.

The Metropolitan: The attacks are increasing, Armstrong.

Armstrong: I know.

Absolute Crane: We need to be blunt. Tell them the dangers. The likelihood of injury, of death.

Armstrong: We can protect them!

The Metropolitan: Can we?

Armstrong: Yes! We just need to--

Terror Raptor: Met's right. We were all there in the middle of the city, students, faculty, and the government workers, we still almost lost three students today.

Absolute Crane: In broad daylight.

Armstrong: That was an oversight. We weren't prepared for an attack then! It wasn't supposed to be--

Absolute Crane: But it was.

The Metropolitan: Could we hire more faculty?

Terror Raptor: That would just take more heroes off the streets.

The Metropolitan: We still patrol, at night, we could just have more of them in Paragon, right?

Sir Knight: Other cities would get hit, then. Harder than before. No heroes to protect them, means more villains targeting them.

Absolute Crane: We need to tell them.

Armstrong: I just... I..

M: We know, Richard. We know what you wanted to do this year, to provide a safe space for these heroes, to provide what we all wanted growing up, a school, a training ground, a world where we could grow, to learn what we could do and without the dangers of the world, but...

Armstrong: But..

M: But we can't take that time right now. This happens every year. Students get reckless, they don't listen. They're young, they're stupid, they're kids. They're all just kids and we expect so much of them, and they don't really know what they're getting into. They don't understand the dangers. Here they have the staff to protect them, but they don't all realize that we're not unstoppable. We're not invincible. We can be hurt.

The Metropolitan hides his hands, they're healed, thanks to Sir Knight, but scarred. Armstrong looks around the room. He reads the faces of his staff, his fellow heroes, his friends. Some of them look back, others look away, but they all feel the same. They all know what needs to be done. Armstrong sighs, and then..

Armstrong: You're right. You're all right. I was foolish to think we could keep them safe this year and with the increasing attacks... I was an idiot to ignore it for so long.

M: You weren't an idiot, you were hopeful.

Absolute Crane: We can't be hopeful, we have to be realistic.

M: Crane.

Crane looks at M, then at Armstrong, then down. It is not the time nor place.

M: Richard, we'll tell them tomorrow. We'll let them know the true risks of this lifestyle, that we can't guarantee their protection, but we'll try, we'll do whatever we can to protect them and equip them with what they need in this world.

The Metropolitan: And we can get to work on figuring out who was behind these attacks. Then we can--

Eklund: The Herd.

The Metropolitan: What?

Eklund: That's what they called themselves. The ones in the warehouse. The Herd. The big one, told me they wait for the next time. I don't know who they are, where they came from, but there's more of them. They're planning something too. They have to be. This attack was coordinated.

Sir Knight: The Herd? A bunch of animals!

He realizes what he's said and who he's said it around.

Sir Knight: Oh. Not you, Armstrong, I mean the--

Armstrong: It's fine.

Sir Knight is a bit embarrassed, tact was never his strong suit.

Armstrong: We'll learn more about them. Crane, you take a team and continue scouting the streets each night. Find what you can and see if the ones we've captured have given up any information as to who is behind this. Eklund, if there's anything you learn about the artifacts that were taken then feel free to pursue any leads. Raptor, Metropolitan, you two need to begin teaching these students advanced tactics, and be harsh with them -- you're all right that we can't baby them anymore, if we can't protect them from the world then they need to learn to protect themselves. Upgrade, continue searching for anything that could help us identify the assailants from today, who they're connected to, what you can learn about the Herd. We need to be ready for anything, and with Viktor taking his two out of school I'm worried that...

The Metropolitan: What? You think he's back?

M: Richard? Is he...?

Armstrong: I don't know.

The mood in the room immediately dampens. There is a degree of terror and panic in the minds and hearts of each hero in the room, if Armstrong is right, if HE is back, then this battle was only the first of many to come.

Armstrong: But we'll be ready.

Everyone looks up and nods, Armstrong's confidence spreading to them, overcoming the momentary feeling of fear.

Armstrong: Goodluck all. We've got students to teach. Heroes to prepare. A world to protect. Get some rest.

And with that, the faculty leave, each of them heading to their rooms, their offices, their favorite spots on campus. Whatever they need to do to rest and recover before the next day.

It is now the fourth day at the Academy. Several students have dropped out or left the Academy for varying reasons. Not even a week has gone by without serious injury and threat of death and a recent announcement from Armstrong himself has revealed how dangerous the life of a hero can be. There is no more sugar coating it -- you can all very much die should you continue this path. The faculty will continue to try and protect each of you but even they can fail.

After Armstrong's announcement you're all instructed to meet with your instructors over at the training center. When you arrive you see Terror Raptor and The Metropolitan, both of them in full costume and looking far more serious than you'd seen them before, The Metropolitan's arms are scarred from the encounter before. Pheus, Willow, and Sophie have all recovered from their respective wounds, and they join the class as well.

Once you're all there the class begins.

The Metropolitan: Some of you almost died yesterday. Some of you witnessed me get seriously injured. As Armstrong told you all, this life, being a hero, it's dangerous. We're here to try and teach you to protect yourselves. Each of you need to be able to defend yourselves, to think clearly in a fight, to address a situation with a clear mind, even in the heat of the moment.

Terror Raptor: You also need to learn to work together, like a super team! There is strength in numbers, so we're going to let you all pair up and go on an exercise together! It's gonna be real tough too!

The Metropolitan: Your team must have at least 5 people on it, but no more than 7. We've found that somewhere between that number is optimal, you can effectively communicate without there being a massive power struggle or the chaos of having too many people trying to accomplish the same objective.

Terror Raptor: Heroes tend to trip over one another if too many gather! Like having too many cooks in a kitchen! You'll just light the whole place ablaze and that's bad!

The Metropolitan: Once you've assembled your team, come to me and I'll give you your mission. Remember, teams of at least 5 but no more than 7.

Terror Raptor: Go get em!!

You're all now free to talk with one another, to assemble a team. While you do that Metropolitan and Raptor take some seats off to the side of the room, you're free to do whatever. Follow their instructions and assemble a team, or if you think you have a better idea, feel free to get into some mischief, after all, you are mostly idiot kids looking for trouble.

Current Objective: Listen to your teachers and assemble your teams or go off on your own and get into trouble elsewhere.