Tenaxa

Tori hardly noticed the improvements made to the area as she dashed to the door. She was running a little late, of course, but hoped things hadn’t really started. She burst in and saw the beautifully set up area. It gave her pause for a moment, until she saw the other students. Everyone was in their nice, traditional, matching garb. She looked down at herself. Grey, Paragon U sweatshirt; only a couple holes in it. Rainbow bag with multi-colored letters indicating “Penny Palace”, various bits of clothing half-hanging out of it. Black T-shirt with a stylized gothic gargoyle on it, and grey lettering indicating “Black Cat Nightclub”. Baggy grey sweatpants (slightly different grey than the sweatshirt…) that said "OASIS" down the side of one leg and had pictures of tropical drinks down the side of the other. White Chuck Taylor sneakers, but only one sock, that indicated “Property of Pshard’s” along the top. Despite the surprise and embarrassment, she instinctively gave a respectful bow to Daniel. She stood for a second, then blushed and hung her head. “Oh…um, maybe I should come back some other time.” She stammered as the other students looked at her. ((Yes, shout-out to some in-game clubs. Hopefully some of those in-game RP people come to this RP forum!))

((Moving right along)) ((Also, WARNING: Language ahead)) Apartment Near Campus: The apartment was cold, and the dull ache of a mild hangover thrummed in her head. “Fuuuck youuuuuu!” She said to her phone as the alarm went off again. She sat up and gave a shiver as she her bare skin was exposed to the cold air. She noted one sock remained on while the other, and her clothes, were scattered haphazardly, on the floor. “I shouldn’t’ have stayed at AfterHours for so long. What was I thinking?” She put her head in her hands and rubber her eyes. “Oh yeah, I wasn’t thinking, that was the booze…and the music…oh…and the eye candy…oh damn the eye candy…” She grinned thinking of the crowd the night before. She grabbed her phone; there were a couple texts from the night before. She checked her pictures too – yup, those were not flattering. Sure looked like everyone was having fun though. “Bar dancing.” Yup bar dancing at Afterhours was fun; tightly packed bodies writhing against one-another to some hard-edged music. Today, the real world would come back; she was up early to get to Tai Chi Yoga. Then classes and who knows what else would come up. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled on some loose-fitting clothes. Looking in the mirror she sighed. “No wonder nobody shows interest in me at the clubs, I look like a boy who doesn’t take care of themselves.” Though she did notice a smudge of lipstick on her cheek. “Who the heck left lipstick marks on me last night?” She asked herself in the mirror as she wiped off the stain. She ran a brush through her short hair quickly. “Well…maybe if I put in a little more time. Tori, you are a mess. Despite your best efforts you haven’t gotten past your upbringing., or lack thereof. Glorious results of a mis-spent youth.” She sighs. “Sorry mom and dad…I know you tried.” She looked at her coffee maker and the empty bag of coffee grounds next to it. “Oh fuck me…” After yet another deep sigh as she opened her phone; “Remind me to buy more coffee. Every day until I tell you to stop.” “Bleep-boo” The device chirped in acceptance, and then without hesitation: “Hey Tori, do not forget to pick up coffee.” Tori mumbled something derogatory to her phone, grabbed her bag, and dashed out to join the Tai Chi class.

During the tram ride home, she was restless. She looked up at the stops and saw that they were passing through Brickstown. “Perfect.” She thought. “Bricks has all sorts of issues, that’ll be a nice place to get a good workout.” She stepped out of the tram station and looked around, smiling. “Yup, smells like trouble out there.” Two people walked by; “The current time is 21:02.” “Seems like Mad Gremlin is a real thorn in the side of the Devouring Earth.” ((Sorry, couldn’t help myself…)) She leapt off the platform and ducked into a nearby underground parking area. In moments she had changed from Tori the student, to Tenaxa, the hero. Activating her jump boosters she was onto a rooftop in no time. She checked the alerts, sorting for the Brickstown neighborhood. “Freakshow causing trouble, someone kidnapped by the Council, rogue Crey scientists…” She wasn’t even paying that much attention as she made another leap and landed on a shipping container in a warehouse yard. Looking down she saw two men in orange jumpsuits, “Zigursky Prison” written along the back. She smiled and stepped off to land near them. “Well hello gents, did you lose your way? Perhaps I can direct you back home?” “Ah crap!” One of them shouted, while the other simply turned and smiled, his hands lighting up with a fiery, orange glow. “Hmmm, that’ll make things more difficult.” She stated before falling into a combat stance. “Shall we dance?” A few minutes later she was a little singed and bruised, but those two, plus four other escapees were safely back in the Zig, and two freakshow that had happened by were now being taken into custody. She brushed a few bits of ash out of her hair and shook her hand. “Hitting freakshow is literally punching metal. Happily, they relied primarily on their cybernetics. Actual combat skill and finesse was severely lacking. She stopped by the hospital to get cleaned up and some minor healing applied. Her hand was still a little stiff and swollen. Maybe next time she’d bring the blades or even the staff. Then again, a few aching knuckles were worth it to really feel the action. By the time she actually got home, it was getting late. Still, she peeked at her phone to see if anything was going on. “Hmmm, looks like Black Friday’s is hopping tonight.” She saw that several friends had posted things from there on social media. “Yeah…can’t hurt to go out for a bit, right?” She said to her reflection in the mirror. She quickly yanked off her sweatshirt and jeans and put on some tighter, fancy jeans, mesh top, and a vest that was just enough to make her “decent”. She put on a little make-up and tried to brush her hair. “Damn girl, you aren’t going to impress anyone.” She sighed and then shrugged. ”Eh, maybe through beer goggles.” And out the door she went.

Tori got on the tram with the bloody towels secured in a ziplock bag, inside a grocery bag. Even though no one could see it, she still felt like eyes were on her. She’d transported evidence before, but for some reason she felt particularly vulnerable this time. Her phone dinged and she jumped a bit. “Damn, calm down girl.” She said to herself and took a look. It was from Max’s number: “What? Seriously…what is with this guy?” She said out loud. An older woman riding near her in the tram leaned over. “Boy problems deary?” Tori chuckled and shrugged. “Um, well you know how it is.” If you only knew! Tori thought to herself. The break relaxed her a bit and she sat calmly for the rest of the ride. She finally got to the stop by the crime lab. Pulling out her phone she hit a few buttons and watched as it indicated her dad’s home phone sent a one-ringer to Joe’s phone. She smiled and moved over to the back door of the lab. A few minutes later a short, slightly pudgy man came out the back door. He smiled when he saw Tori. She smiled as well and went to hug him. “Hey Joe, how’ve you been?” “You owe me for this Tori.” He said grumpily. “I’m going to have to do this after-hours, so you better come through with those tickets.” “C’mon Joe, have I ever let you down? And remember, that last promotion you got was because you did all that analysis from the War Zone stuff I brought you. And we headed off that plot before it could be executed. You have the tools and the knowhow man.” He grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, yeah. I do have to admit that was kinda cool. So, what do you have for me this time?” Tori handed him the bag. “Towels with blood on them. Need whatever you can get from it; blood type, any toxins, any oddities. You know the deal. Heck, if you can get one of your mages to scan for any auras that’d be cool too.” “Alright, I’ll see what I can do. My wife has her book club tonight anyway so I can run some of the tests tonight.” “Joe, you are the best! Thanks so much! I’ll let you know when I’ve secured the tickets for you and get them sent to your phone.” She hugged him again. “Oh, I stole the last of your wife’s muffins from my parents’ house. I’m sure they’ll be asking her for more.” “Haha! Great, she loves baking so I’m sure they’ll have another batch soon. And I’ll have these results for you soon as well.” They said their goodbyes and Tori made her way back to her apartment.

((Finally got around to fixing my name and signature, so don't be confused, its still me! Hey, better late than never!)) ((Now just need a character picture))

Tori takes Max’s number and enters it into her phone. She types a few things into her own phone. “There just air-dropped my number to you. That includes my special hero code as well.” She holds up her phone; “Latest hero phone release. Ruggedized, waterproof, heat resistant, etc. Works through Portal Corp technology so you can reach me pretty much anywhere. If I don’t get back to you pretty quickly, I’m in a crap-ton of trouble.” She grins wryly. “Perks of a dad who works with the Paragon PD.” Tori gets up. “During the day I’m usually around campus or..around. At night I’m…well, usually Pocket D or one of the clubs honestly. I...uh…keep busy.” She grins and grabs her stuff. “Class? Yeah, just the one…stupid requirements. Well, I guess I’m not hating calculus as much as I did to start.” “I’ll see ya later Max, have a good one.” Tori made her way through the crowd and out to the quad. Once out she stopped and took a deep breath and leaned against a tree. “More to that guy than meets the eye really. Nicer and more down-to-earth than I’d expect from a jock like that.” She thought to herself. “But he probably thinks I’m an idiot for not figuring out the clues we found.” She shrugged to herself. “He’s not the only one.” She laughed to herself as she took her phone out and texted: “Hey Joe, need some tox work on a blood-stained towel. And no, don’t’ ask. Dad’s out of town or I’d do this all official-like. Do this for me and I might be able to score you some Paragon U football tickets.” She hoped she hadn’t over-stepped her bounds but she figured Max could probably arrange it. She headed off lazily to class.

“Hmm, I guess that make some sense…I just don’t know though. Something is missing.” “Yeah, I’ll talk to my dad. He should be able to get at least some of the data for us. And again, yeah, let’s see what we can do with the cloth. I even know a few magic heroes and could maybe pull in a few favors to see if someone at M.A.G. I. could at least check for a magical aura.” She shrugs. “You never know in this crazy world we live in.” Tori pulls out of phone and starts texting; “Dad, looking into something and it would help a lot if you could get us some info on the kid that died on campus. Want to know anything you can get me from the medical examiner’s report. Hope you are still having fun in Vegas, love you!” “Hopefully he’s not too busy to take care if it right away. He’ll do it, the question is when.” She shrugs.

Tori looked over the disparate clues. “A guy who was making out with a girl. The girl later, and maybe not that surprisingly, knew who you were. The guy then collapses and dies, with scratch marks on his neck. A silver bullet charm and some seemingly random dates and times in the study room. Oh, and somehow, she leaves the study room, without him, then later he comes out wondering where she is, almost in a panic? I expect at that time he probably wasn’t bleeding, or you’d have seen it. I also didn’t see any blood…or for that matter any other “fluids” in the study room. Maybe the stairwell?” She shakes her head and then takes a long drink of coffee. She tilts her head back to look at the ceiling as if answers will fall from the sky. “Silver bullet charm suggests werewolves or other lycanthropes. My knowledge of that is limited and there were so many Praetorian experiments with human-animal hybrids it is hard to know a lycan from a Moreau-type being. Possible claw marks on the neck matches that as well, but again, claws are not an uncommon thing in our world. Extra-planar beings, mutants, hybrids, etc., etc.” Tori sighs. “I got nothing. I have no f-ing clue. So much for me being a great detective.” She stops and looks at Max; “I can probably get autopsy details on the guy. My dad should have access to that, and he’ll keep it on the downlow. Maybe get a blood type off of those towels? Or a toxicology screening? Also, I can run these dates and times through some databases…but that’s not anything special.” Tori takes her phone out and takes a picture of the sheet of paper and the silver shell casing charm. “Seriously, maybe I was right that it is a mole-man invasion? You have any insight on all of this?”

Tori frowned at the ankle monitor. “Damn, that sucks. Been quite a while, you’d think they’d let it rest.” Tori shrugged. “Don’t worry, nobody is going to the Zig.” As Tori fished out the crumpled paper, she looked the charm. “That’s either very odd or very specific. And I don’t like the implications of the later.” She spreads the paper out, trying to flatten it, then turns it toward Max and slides it over. “A list of dates and times. No clue what they mean but I can fire them into a couple databases and see if anything pops up for any metahuman activities. Anything stand out to you?” She picks up the bag with the charm. “Silver bullets. Ugh, I hate being right about stuff like this. Were there any marks on the guy you tried to help?”

Tori sipped her coffee and raised an eyebrow when he said he was an unregistered “hero”. While Max delayed, Tori gave a little nod. “I’ve done enough for this city and I have plenty of contacts and connections. Talking to you, or working with you, is not going to cause me any trouble. We’re good.” She frowned when he started talking about the incident with his young super group. Then she realized that it probably happened when she was on her own, so didn’t originally know about it. But also realized that she had heard something about it. “Shit, I thought my dad made that up to scare me. That was one of the tales he told me to scare me off of being a hero. That was you?” She shook her head and looked at Max. “I didn’t hear about it originally because…well…let’s just say I wasn’t seeing or reading much news at that time. Still, my dad used it as a cautionary tale. Though even he said it was wrong to put kids on trial like that.” Tori leans back and sips on her coffee, thinking about what she had heard. “Jeez, I’m sorry Max. Not sure what to say. So…you aren’t allowed to ever get an ID?” She leans forward looking at Max. “Seriously, we’re good. Someone finds out we’re working on something just tell them I asked you for help and didn’t know your background. Technically true and believable based on my track record.”

"Sorry, not much of a fan. I just don't follow most sports. I spend my time following meta-human activities." She thinks for a moment. "Though...behavior, drama...yeah, not too different than big-time sports." “Actually, I am from here…um, around. I spent the last almost ten years out in the ‘burbs.” Formerly being fairly cocky, Tori’s tone changed a bit when she had to talk about her past. She quickly shakes off her thoughts of the past and perks back up. “So how long I’ve been a hero? Officially or unofficially? I have to admit I was out doing work before I was of legal age. No license, no mentor, no connections, just me out there. It was dumb and irresponsible, but man I had fun. Still have a few permanent reminders of that time though. Finally got my hero ID a few years ago when I turned eighteen. For the last several years I’ve been spending the bulk of my time out in the field. My dad finally convinced me that there was more to life. So here I am.” Tori looked a little surprised when Max held the door for her, but shrugged and walked in. She walked up to the counter. “Americano, might as well make it double.” She looked for a spot to sit and nodded to a booth where they could probably talk about their findings reasonably privately.

Tori made her way down and was deftly working her way through the crowd but was surprised at how Max moved. As a huge guy, he managed to avoid people, obstructions, and even cameras. She considered using a few ninja tricks to get through, but decided against it. About halfway through the crowd Tori realized she had not grabbed the materials she needed. She shrugged, they weren’t going anywhere and would be here tomorrow. She looked at the various obstructions between her and the exit and resisted the urge to simply vault over them. Instead, she worked her way through and to the exit. Once outside she jogged up to Max, following him to the Cup and Saucer. “Geez man, your sport-ball training allow you to get through a crowd like that?” She said with a wry grin. As they walked, she took out her phone and opened a browser. She typed in: Maxwell Drake Let’s see what this guy is about, she thought, as multiple hits appeared; mostly lots of sports stories and social media. She'd have to look more in detail later.

Written with American Valor Houston Library For a big guy Max moved not in the typical way that someone his size would move. His action betrayed him to anyone who knew fighting as did his grace of movement. Instead of standing to height and bearing mass Max had shrunk low coiled to strike, his left arm across his chest, right arm above it crossing to his left side both hands in claw fashion. He glared initially with steely blue eyes at Tori. Then in the next instance Max was standing looking harmless, as harmless as a 6'6" 245lbs guy can try to make himself look. When Max fell into a fighting stance, Tori instinctively did the same, falling into a defensive stance, ready to move from the doorway. When Max relaxed, it took Tori a moment before she too took on a more relaxed stance. She breathed deeply to calm the minor adrenaline rush from the initially perceived threat. "Aaa Um So what do you mean? Oh you mean with that sick..." Max stopped talking a guilty sad look upon his face. She quickly took in a full assessment of Max; tall, handsome, muscular, and he knew how to fight. That was not someone who just took weekend martial arts classes for a couple years. Interesting, she thought to herself. More to this man-meat than meets the eye. And she still had the nagging suspicion that she’d seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t place it. “Sick? I saw the video; you were giving CPR to what appeared to be a young, healthy male. Sure, it can happen…but just not likely. No, the Paragon PD are treating that down there as a crime scene right now. And I’ve done enough snooping around in my few years to know snooping, and you are clearly snooping.” Max spoke quietly: "That guy was dead before I started the CPR. You some kinda hero Misszzzz?" Max dragged out the sound fishing for a name while watching her. He picked up a ziplocked baggie that had a shiny small cylinder in it palming it casually into his pocket. Tori nodded and looked at Max as he stashed whatever he had found. “I’m mizzzzz Tori” She grinned making fun of Max a bit. Then she thought for a moment and nodded to herself. “Yeah, I am some kind of hero. Registered under the name “Tenaxa” if you are into such things like that.” She walked into the room doing a quick sweep with her eyes, as her father had taught her. Tables, chairs, dry erase board, garbage… Wait… the garbage had stuff in it. Tori wandered over to sit casually on a table near the waste basket to give it a look. “So what are you doing searching up here? And are you some kind of hero Misterrrrrrr?” Holding the “r”, again, trying to poke a little fun at the big guy. Max couldn’t help but smile his award-winning smile and with a flip of his hair back, replied, " Mr. Drake, Maxwell Drake." Pausing for dramatic effect, “Well hello Maxwell.” She smiled back, thinking again that she recognized that name as well as his smiling face. She just couldn’t place it… Oh wait, he was some big football star or something for the University. She didn’t follow football so didn’t know much about him. "Um no, but Isn't that kinda latin Tenaxa, well sorta anyway. I gotta grab my stuff, We should take this elsewhere, unless you're here to arrest me?" Max said seriously. “Arrest you? No, I think I’ll let you off with a warning.” She says, grinning. “And yes, Tenaxa is sorta latin. A latin scholar would slap me, but tenax is tough or tenacious.” She crouched and pulled a few papers out of the garbage. In a faux-male voice; “Always check the garbage Tori, it is where all the good clues hide.” “Sorry, that’s something my dad always said.” She chuckled. Though most of it was actual garbage, one sheet she straightened out had a list of dates and times. “Ok, this might be meaningful. So now that you have your little clue, and I have this, let’s ditch and maybe put our heads together on this?” “Saw that did you. I had bagged it right before you popped in. So pizza, burgers, or cheesecake and coffee?” Max actually laughed. While walking to grab his backpack and library books. “Um…sure I have time for a coffee.” She said, not really quite sure what she was agreeing to.

Tori looked at the offered video. She’s seen the big guy before…she just couldn’t remember where…on the college social media maybe? Tori had seen enough crime scenes in her work and because her dad was a criminologist contractor for the Paragon PD. She knew some of the subtle clues – and some of the obvious ones. This was now a crime scene investigation and it is possible the poor recipient of the CPR was dead. She stepped onto the elevator and hit the upper floor. Waiting and listening to musak as the elevator slowly climbed. She stepped out, intent on finding the materials that she needed but did a double-take. In a nearby study area was the very same buff person who had been trying to save the victim. And he was definitely not studying…he was searching…looking for clues? Well, if man-meat maxwell was checking things out here, maybe she could take a peek as well. And maybe the police should know about this? Eh, she wasn’t going to tell on the guy. She walked over and leaned against the doorframe. “So, what happened down there…or up here? Clearly not an invasion of the mole-men.”

It was getting late by the time Tori was back on campus, but she still had things to do. Heading over to the library she noticed some commotion. EMS was just leaving and there was a crowd milling about. Campus police seemed to be talking to a few people as well, but things seemed calm now. The crowd seemed to be just breaking up a bit as she approached. “Hmmm, wonder what I missed?” She wondered aloud to herself. She slipped in past the small crowd of students who were commenting and speculating on what went on. “I heard Ms. Binks sucked the life out of someone for being too loud!” “I swear I saw monsters sneaking away from the library. I think they were those Devouring Earth things.” “No way, it was a fight over some girl!” “Pretty sure it is a Nemesis plot.” “There was a meta-human battle here, this is a government cover-up!” “A stack of books attacked the guy! Really, I’m not kidding!” Tori shook her head as she passed by. Nope, some things would never change. She could only imagine what the rumor mill would turn this into by tomorrow. Probably a full scale Rikti invasion of the library because it was actually a secret Vanguard base. Or maybe an attack by the mole-men? She chuckled softly to herself at the thought. The middle of the main area was cordoned off and was a mess of scattered books, carts, and knocked over chairs. She grinned and leaned over to a student gawker. “I hear it was an attack by mole-men.” She did silently hope that no one was seriously hurt. Still, she couldn’t help but have a little fun with it. Feeling lazy she went over and hit the button for the elevator. Waiting for the endlessly slow, old equipment she leaned against the wall, watching the staff start to clean up the mess.

She’d taken care of her parents’ cats and cleaned up a little bit around the house. She’d worked on her forms in the basement gym and gotten a good workout. After a shower she grabbed something to eat (might as well take advantage of mom and dad’s stocked kitchen!) and did some homework. As she finished up and put her laptop in her bag she saw the box that she had thrown in there earlier. DNA Test kit. One of the cats meowed at her for attention. “Well hello Mr. Whiskers, do you need some attention?” She said as she gently scratched his back. “Maybe you can help me complete this DNA test and get it sent in?” “Mrrrroooowww.” Was his response as he rubbed against her. “No, not you. They’ll think I’m a cat girl!” She responded and giggled. A few minutes later she’d completed the steps and packaged it back up. “Well, maybe this’ll tell me who I’m related to, at least. I’ll leave mom and dad’s address on it; probably safer to make sure it gets back to me rather than at my apartment.” She grabbed a pen and paper and wrote a note; Mom and Dad, Took care of cats, I’ll stop by again if you aren’t home soon, just text. Hope you’re having a good time in Vegas. Sparkles puked on the floor but I cleaned it up. I’m sure she’s mad that you’re gone. She wouldn’t even come out to say hello to me (but Mr. Whiskers did, he loves me!). Let me know when you get back – I want to hear about the trip and maybe you can come in and have dinner with me? (you know…buy me a good meal?) 😊 Love, Tori With that done, she headed back to the tram and took the long ride back to campus.

Content might be good, but the formatting is painful and I can't get through it. Clipped on the left side (screen resolution doesn't seem to help) and that font is horrible. Newspapers would typically be in something like Times New Roman. Even Arial. And dim the background (there's a reason newspapers are/were not bright white). I don't want to be overly critical, because I bet the content would be fun reading. Just please, fix your background and formatting. Thanks.

Mike Bana climbed off the tram and wandered down the street in the dim light. It was getting late and most of the street lights in this area of King’s Row were burned out or damaged. His huge frame was slouched over and covered in a trench coat. A pair of Skulls were in the process of breaking into a car as he walked by. One turned with a knife and pointed at Mike, not realizing his mistake until he really measured the size of his target. Mike shrugged off the trench coat and stood up, a dim greenish glow subtly emitting from his body. In his right hand was a massive club with a glowing head. He whipped it around like it was a twig and before the thug could react he was knocked up into the air, unconscious before he even landed. The other Skull fumbled for a revolver but Mike back-handed him with the club and sent him sliding down the street. “I had a bad day, don’t mess with me.” He grumbled as he continued down the street. Finally, he stopped at a run-down apartment building and went in. He looked at the elevator but the door was clearly broken and the elevator was dark. He slowly climbed up three floors worth of stairs and went to one of the doors. He took a deep breath before entering. The dingy apartment smelled of smoke, dust, and mildew. A dim light flickered in the main room from the television. A figure sat on a beat-up recliner, discarded food boxes, empty beer cans, and an empty liquor bottle lay scattered around the chair. The figure spoke; “What the f#$k are you doing here?” Mikes large frame seemed to almost shrink. “Uh, apartment building burned down. I gotta stay here for a few days.” A string of curse words came from the shadowed chair. “Then you have to earn your keep, go to the liquor store and get me some booze and beer!” “Dad, you know I’m not of legal age, and its not like I can get by on a fake ID.” Another string of curses came from the figure who started to rise. He was large – not as large as Mike, but still large – and wearing a stained T-shirt and jeans, and his face hadn’t seen a razor for an extended time. His hand started to glow in a strange light as he growled; “Then you TAKE it!” Mike shied away but the man (“Dad”) continued forward. As the hand touched Mike he tried to suppress the cry of pain as the energy coursed through his body. “Still and damn wimp. You’re never gonna be nuthin!” The man scoffed and sat back down in the recliner. “Get outta my sight.” Mike retreated to one of the bedrooms, closing the door behind him. He moved over to the nightstand and reached behind it, pulling out a worn book; The Poems of Robert Frost. Laying down on the bed that was far too small for his massive frame, he settled in to reading.

Tori looked over the card and smiled. "Thank you Daniel." Tori takes her bag. “Thanks, and I will definitely do my best to make it in the morning.” She smiles and waves and heads off toward the athletic complex. Later: Athletic Complex, Student Weight Room Tori let the weight gently clank back onto the bar after her last squat and grinned as she shook out her legs. The two guys who had doubted her stared, dumbfounded. “I think that’s twenty bucks from each of you. I take Venmo if that is easier for you.” She stood, grinning at them. "I think your exact words were; "She won't even do one! I can do ten more if you'd like but I'm just afraid that will bruise your ego even further." “You want to go double-or-nothing on the bench? Or maybe pushups or situps? I couldn't possibly be good at all that stuff, could I?” “Uh…no…no!” One of them stuttered as they handed over her winnings, grumbling, then headed out.

“Hardly, I asked and I appreciate the information.” “Work? Um…” She thought for a second, shrugged, and decided how much to explain. “I do hero work. I enjoy it a lot, despite the occasional bumps and bruises.” She smiled. “My adoptive dad was a hero and he taught me martial arts from when I was young. Back then it was the only thing I would pay attention to. Long story short, I learned a lot over the years and…” She trails off a bit. “Well, my dad absolutely forbid me from doing hero work.” A wry grin appears on her face. “So naturally I was going to try. It was rough at first, but I finally registered and got some contacts and people to work with. Plus I finally mastered some of the old Ninja techniques. Yeah, yeah…people say it’s all rumor and tricks…Ninja couldn’t really do that stuff. Well, some of that mysticism really works. Anyway, my dad accepts that I’m a hero now, even though he still doesn’t like it.” She shrugs. “I’ve moved up from beating up gangers to some pretty important stuff. If you look me up I’m listed under “Tenaxa”. Comes from “Tenax”, which is Latin for tenacious or tough. Or sticky, clingy, and holding fast, but I tend to prefer the former translations. Good thing you aren’t a Latin language scholar or you’d probably scold me for my liberal abuse of the language.” She laughs. “Sorry, that’s probably more than you wanted to know. But I do really love the work I do. I feel like I’ve helped a lot of people.” Her phone buzzed briefly. “Oh, time to go work out pretty soon. This was quite a lot of fun. Thank you very much for the meal and maybe we can do it again some time.” She stands and gives a deep, respectful, bow.

Tori tentatively reached out and took the offered bun. “You spoil me Daniel. I very much appreciate your kindness.” She bowed her head briefly and then followed Daniel’s lead of taking small bites, intermittently sipping her tea. “There is always room for desert. When my adoptive parents first took me in my dad always used to joke he had never seen someone as small as me eat so much.” She laughed. “I still eat a lot to fuel my workouts and…um, work.” She tries to clean out her dishes as well as she can and hands them back to Daniel. “Thank you again. That was wonderful.” “I have to admit, recently early mornings have not been my favorite, but Tai Chi Yoga sounds awesome! I have not been allowing myself enough time for calm, focus, and stretching. I think it would help me a lot to get back to it. ” She takes out her phone and quickly sets reminders. “I had heard about the fire. Very scary. Did they ever find out why the Hellions targeted that building? I read a lot of hero news but didn’t see anything on any follow-up investigation.”

Tori sips her tea and listens to Daniel. “Wise words Daniel.” Tori nods. She continues to sip her tea as she listens to McRae as he tells his tale. At completion, she gives him a bow of her head as he turns to leave. “Nice meeting you!” She says as he walks away, then turns back to Daniel. “I didn’t expect to start a philosophical discussion when I explained why the administration wanted to me check in.” She shrugs and sits back down to finish her meal. “I mean, I don’t disagree with what either of you said. I just…feel like I have to explain to some people. People judge…and I know I shouldn’t let what others think affect me.” She says with a wave of her hand, “but…let’s just say I’m not there yet.” She pauses to think for a moment. “I’m still at the “Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them” stage. Working on overcoming the glorious results of a misspent youth. Just haven’t quite gotten past living on the streets and eating other people’s garbage. Being the “best me” is still a goal, I just let myself down sometimes.” She shrugs. “I’m honest about what I am. But I still feel like I need to apologize for it sometimes. It’s nice when people believe in you though. Plus, gotta love that Scottish accent, right?” She smiles at Daniel and finishes her rice. “Thank you again for the meal, it was wonderful. So, you were talking about training with others. Are you a practitioner of the martial arts yourself? What styles?”

Tori looked down and dragged a foot around in the grass. “Not everyone makes it into Paragon U. Even registered heroes that get special treatment have to meet certain standards. Then there is a sector of students who…maybe didn’t quite meet the minimum requirements…for whatever reason. And possibly…have had…issues in the past in school.” She looks up and smiles weakly. “That’s me.” She states, pointing her thumb at herself. “Plus, on top of that, I’m “normal”” she says with air quotes. “So I don’t get much special treatment, even though I am a registered hero.” She thinks for a moment, takes a deep breath, and then spills a little more. “I didn’t start formal education until I was…oh, maybe twelve. I caught up fast…but…let’s just say school was not a focus for an orphan off the streets. To be honest, only way I got into the university was because my dad knows people. He’s a hero from the old days and a graduate of Paragon U. So…yeah, the University just wants to make sure I’m doing ok. Can’t blame them too much for that.” She shrugs. “I’m a twenty-one-year-old freshman with a checkered past. Life happens. But I’ll give you the scoop; I haven’t beat anyone up – yet – and I’m passing all of my classes. Even though half my classes are boring as shi…I mean they aren’t very engaging. Honestly, I’d be much happier putting my well-honed skills to use than sitting here studying calculus.” She points at her computer bag with a touch of disdain. "But I'm also not going to piss away this opportunity. So, I'm trying to be a good girl."

((Sorry, first part of this will have to take place before Living Hellfire steps in; I'm too slow in my posting!)) “No, no…a “shrink”. Like a psychologist or psychiatrist. Someone who analyzes your mental state and tries to help. Or in my case, messes you up further.” “The better or worse was that you are both a professor, and get to live in that world, and a student, and get to live in that world.” She grins, getting the idea that Daniel probably won’t get it. “Wait, what? My sensei? How did you…?” Tori paused and then gave a little chuckle. “My primary sensei - also my dad - is fine with me training with others. He promotes it in fact. Spent a summer in Japan learning some...techniques.” ***************((Insert McRae’s entry here))******************** Tori looks up when Mr. McRae approached and introduced himself. She carefully set down her tea and rice and stood, gracefully. “Hi, I’m Tori. Nice to meet you Mr. McRae. Guidance counselor you say? You probably have me on your schedule then.” She sighs. “I have been “asked” to see a guidance counselor to make sure I am…meeting expectations.”

Tori reached out and took a pair of chopsticks when offered. This also displayed the subtle signs of callus’ on her knuckles. “Wow you are like a regular restaurant! Lemon tuna sounds wonderful and I love Bok Choy!” She said a little too enthusiastically, and then caught herself. “I mean…whatever you aren’t eating is fine, really.” When passed the rice bowl Tori ate deftly with the chopsticks and clearly had to concentrate to slow herself down. “Studying? Oh, still taking some of the required stuff. Most of it boring as shi…I mean not very exciting. Except for Metahuman Studies. I love that class. And intro Psych isn’t too bad, but that’s mostly because I’ve seen more than my share of shrinks and social workers and want to know what they were poking me about.” She stopped to sip her tea. “Wow, this is great! You make all this yourself? This is as good as the little hole in the wall Asian place I go to with…well I go to sometimes.” She took a deep breath to slow down her eating. “Sorry, I eat too fast all the time. Long story. So you said you are a student and professor? Best – or worst – of both worlds? What do you teach?”