_Essex_

But the electricity fizzled as soon as it had begun. Essex scooped up Virelai, quickly charging a nanite pulse around the child.

"Let's everyone settle down now." she said, her soothing voice projecting over the group of children.

"...I am Miss Essex. If you can't say that, you can call me Essie or Ess. This house belongs to me and Mr. Archlich who is right there. We both are here to help you grow up strong, and have fun, okay?"

She smiled comfortingly, rocking Virelai in her arms.

"So let's all introduce ourselves, okay?" she asked.

Rosalind came skidding into the room, chasing after the metal mouse and nearly smashing right into Naga with a loud yelp.

Nessie, on the other hand, seemed at first to ignore Cobalt - but when she began comparing their robotic arms, she turned to stare at the girl.

"...I'm ...Nessie." the girl said in a voice just barely loud enough to hear.

"Okay now..." Essex warned, Burning around her neck, Hal in her arms, and Muck and Guck beating on her legs with a plastic-sounding clacking. "In we go..."

Scooting the twins into the center room, she looked back at Blightlord, with a little smile. "We'll talk about that later, okay, sweetheart?" the android murmured as she herded the boy into the room as well.

It was then that she noticed Virelai awake and beginning to cry. She set down Hal on the couch along with Burning and gave a warning look to Muck and Guck.

Something about the warning look made the twins feel like they really didn't want to push this...

"Lili?" Essex called out to the little carnivaller. "If you and Rosie would help me, I'd much appreciate it."

"You got it, Miss Essex!" Rosalind called out, and with a tiny poof of smoke, she was a tumbling, black-and-white ball of fur - a border collie puppy. Beginning to bark, she began herding children into the room happily.

Essex picked up Virelai and cradled the girl, patting her back soothingly to help ease her coughing. Nanites glowed around her in a calming aura as well.

"There there, now..." she murmured quietly. Essex's voice was young - but it had a comforting quality to it. "You're all right now..."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Essex said, relegating Hal to her hip while kneeling down next to where Muck and Guck were attacking little Burning. "Let's play nice right now, okay?"

With that, she began leading them towards the center room with the others.

Essex sighed briefly, looking down at Hal.

"Sh..." she said, with a calm smile. She ran her thumb gently down the bridge of the child's nose and tapped the end with a forefinger. "That's the good thing about being a kid. You don't have to worry about things like that until you're older."

Clearing her throat, sonic generators suddenly hummed online within her. She spoke in a loud, yet soothing voice, easily heard by all the children in the house.

"All right, kids, everyone please go to the front room with Mister Archlich. I'll be out there in just one moment."

Looking to all the parents/guardians still gathered in the foyer, she smiled a little.

"I know it seems a little crazy, but the Bright Star is well-equipped to handle all children of all abilities, and is strongly-protected mostly thanks to the incantations of Sir Archlich here. Please don't worry. Just make sure you write down any special instructions and let us know when you'll be back to visit."

With that, she went out to gather up the newcomers she had spied outside once again, and led them into the room.

"Would all of you kids get into a circle please?" she murmured with a smile.

Ginstar turned a little, shrugging at Toy. "I'anno. We all just used to say it to tease Ess, but it kinda became a habit. And as for me, I speak Spanish - Dr. West likes to program us each to learn another language or two. I speak Spanish, Essex speaks Japanese and Chinese, Genki speaks Italian, Burner speaks Russian, Seawing speaks French...Stuff like that."

Rosalind paused her crying and began to laugh as Reikoff and Naga simultaneously attacked Schizo.

"Hahahaha...Hey, more new kids! Cool!!"

"Ssh-ssh-ssh..." Essex said, leaning into the room with a little smile. "One of our new guests is sleeping now. Le'ts use our inside voices, Rosie."

"Muh-muh, inside voices..." the were-human muttered, her ears and tail drooping. "So who are you guys?"

The snack table was equipped with healthy food - carrot sticks and oatmeal bars set out for everyone.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Essex cried as she pushed her thrusters to the max, chasing after Expiriment. "I can only go so fast!"

"YEEEEEE-HAWWWW!!" Ginstar called gleefully as Toy shot forward. "Pane tostada, this is better than the fair!"

Essex nodded to the couple as they exited, her face sympathetic.

It was something she saw all too often.

At the arrival of MANY more people at the door, she allowed herself a small sigh...but then smiled brightly.

"Please, everyone, come on in." she said quietly, holding the sleeping Hal close so as to keep him comfortable. "We'll have paperwork for all the adults, and I think it would be good to have some snacks for you kids."

With that, she herded the crowd of kids and adults inside, where they all had to stumble past the HUGE Titan. The Titan eyed them all as they went by with a grinding, unsure nod. He was still listening to Professor Hermes, but it had gotten crowded awfully quickly.

"Uh..." Ultraviolet intoned. "Maybe I should get going." With that, the Titan clomped out the door, taking a quick look at the three boys who had just entered before leaving. Children made him nervous.

Rosalind, in the meantime, had her own problem as her eyes widened and she let out a piercing shriek.

"MISS ESSEEEEEEEEEEEXXX!!" she wailed, plopping onto the ground and promptly beginning to cry at Schizo's spit-up assault.

Nessie had moved, though, and was now silently looking out the window after the retreating Titan.

"Be quiet!" Rosie snarled, folding her arms. "You wanna wrestle!?" She stomped one foot petulantly, glaring ferociously at Ghoul.

Nessie, in the meantime, noted Expiriment's book. Standing up, she edged over to the red-armored boy, quietly peering over his shoulder.

"Come on downstairs, Toy!" Essex called cheerfully. "And please bring Archlich's arm down with you, okay? He needs it, you know!"

Continuing on into the main room, she set Moonscribe down near a corner with a few electronic toys - one of which was one of those small panels with keys on it that said the letter aloud when the key was pressed. Carefully letting Schizo down, she kept Hal in her arms - afraid he would cry again if she put him down - as she hurried to help Archlich at the door.

"...And I am Essex." the android girl said pleasantly to the parents. "Please, come in and sit down. I apologize for the mess, it's just gotten quite busy right now."

Essex smiled gratefully at Archlich as he came down the stairs. "Of course, sir." she said, and then nodded towards the door. "Would you take care of the newcomers for me then in the meantime? I -...Ooh!"

Suddenly her head jerked back as Schizophrenias gripped her pigtails like a pair of reins. The android stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment before her patient smile returned to her face. "Careful there..." she said pleasantly. "You'll lose your grip if you're not careful."

Her arms full of Hal and Moonscribe, she began up the stairs, smiling at little Ghoul as he tromped past her into the front room.

"Toy!" she called out. "What are you doing up here? All the excitement's downstairs, you know..."

Rosalind, in the meantime, eyed Kreigg. "What 'zactly are ya?" she asked, blinking inquisitively at Kreigg. "Oh well. Don't matter. Stick with me an' you'll be boss of this place in no time!"

Nessie looked blankly at Ghoul as he poked her mechanical arm. He couldn't see her eyes from behind her glasses, but her mouth was in a neutral semi-scowl. It wasn't an actual frown, but it was the face of a girl who frowned a lot.

((Woo! Welcome, everyone!))

"Oh -...oh - ....Oh, golly!" Essex murmured, her eyes widening as she suddenly found herself dodging three young boys, juggling a multilimbed rock, and being regaled by a senior citizen nearly simultaneously. Handing some paperwork to Professor Hermes, she gave him a hurried smile. "Just one second, sir." she said, looking apologetic. Glancing over her shoulder, she called for the two kids she knew would be nearby...

"Rosie! Lili! Come and meet our new friends!"

Helper seemed to be content to stay next to Professor Hermes, so she let him be. The stone-child, she brought into the living room, as the three near her feet looked like handfuls.

"Rosie, why don't you introduce yourself to Nessie and this one? I'll be in in just a moment."

"Aww." the were-human scowled. Folding her arms, she peered at the two of them, her oversized canines apparent.

"Ah'm Rosie." she said with a slight southern drawl. "Ah run this joint, see? That's Miss Essex."

Essex, in the meantime, sighed as she looked at the young Moonscribe, Hallucinogen, and Schizophrenias. These three looked a little younger than the ones she was accustomed to taking in, but she wouldn't turn them away.

"I can carry two of you..." she said gently, "But the third will have to ride piggyback. Is that all right?" With that, she knelt down, scooping up Moonscribe and Hal, and turning her back to Schizo, glancing back over her shoulder.

"Why don't you grab on?" she asked pleasantly. "Then we'll take you all into the front room to meet everyone."

She barely had time to see Adam approaching the house. Where in the world was Archlich?

Essex sighed.

"How many times have I told you..." she gently scolded, "...not to claw the furniture?"

The android stood, lifting the child she had been scolding away from a mostly-shredded pillow. "Rosie, I only have so many of these, you know." she chided. The little girl had fluffy black hair and white bangs, two puppy ears perking out of her hair. She pouted up at Essex with large, orange eyes, an oversized canine fang visible from her frown.

"I'll do what I wanna." she grumbled as Essex set her down on the floor to play. The android shook her head, brushing her long, fluffy blonde pigtails behind her shoulders. The caretaker looked a mere 16 years of age, though she always felt as though she should be younger. Whenever she thought of her days before Bright Star, however, her memory was fuzzy, and she always dismissed it after a few minutes.

Rosalind began to chew on a large rubber newspaper with a satisfying squeak before the doorbell rang. Looking at the door, she regarded Essex with a glare. "Someone's at the DOOR!" she yelled, rather louder than necessary.

"I know, I know." Essex said with a smile. Moving to the large wooden door at the front of the house, she regarded the newcomers with a welcoming nod.

"Welcome to Bright Star." she said cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

She was faced...by a Malta Titan, holding a tiny, scowling girl in its huge mitts.

"Uhhh..." the Titan's voice boomed, "My name's Ultraviolet. This is my daughter Nessie. I'd like to enroll her here until the end of my duty cycle. I'm on call 11 months out of the year, ya know, and I can't really keep track of a kid..."

"Of course." Essex said, taking the little girl into her arms. "I'll just need you to fill out some paperwork. ...Why don't I bring it outside?"

Stepping into the living room, she set Nessie down next to Rosie. "Now, play nice." she admonished as she went back to the door with a packet to fill out for the huge Titan.

Rosalind eyed the newcomer skeptically. She had big thick glasses and long hair tied back in a braid. Her left arm was a large, blocky robot claw.

Great. she thought. A nerd.

OOC: After a lot of discussion, it's finally up. The Bright Star Children's Home, where tomorrow's heroes and villains and the children of today's metahumanoids can be nurtured and raised in a loving environment.

Born out of comedic discussion and a collective nostalgia of the show Muppet Babies, this thread is a chance to play your favorite character as...a child. Come on now, you've all thought about it.

There are a couple rules I will set forth:

1. Bright Star is on neutral grounds. Both heroic and villainous children are welcome, in addition to children of heroes and villains. They will have to learn to deal with each other someday, might as well start now in a safe and nurturing environment.
2. Character continuity is not an issue. This thread exists outside of timelines, like an alternate timestream. If it really bothers you that much, make it a dream sequence. As it says in the title, this is just for fun.
3. You are allowed to have as many childified characters as you like. This is an opportunity for you to take your favorite characters and play them as kids. Now I don't wanna hear fussyness like, "But my character was a piece of paper as a baby!" "I'm undead, how does that work?" "YOU DON'T KNOW ME!". Like I said, this is just for fun. Take your character AS THEY ARE, make them a kid. We're looking in the 4-6 year age group. Now, if can't possibly conceive of any of your characters (or one that you really want to play) as a kid, please discuss it with myself or Khel, as we are the GMs. :P
4. Since this is a seperate timeline/dimension/whatever, you can have a reason for being here...or not. Since it's just for fun, it doesn't really matter. As far as relationships go, you can choose whether or not you know the other kids - but the events of other threads will not have affected you. A possible way to circumvent this is to make them into 'playground equivalents.'

Example: Reikoff and the Malta engage in a full-scale war with Acid and his robots in Final Fight.
Bright Star version: Reikoff and Acid live next door to each other, and both of them are still holding grudges over a large snow-fort war that spanned the entirety of last winter.

Fun stuff like that.

5. Don't kill anyone. *facepalm* This thread is just for fun. It's not meant to be serious, it's meant to get out some of the goofiness that we accumulate between angst-bombing other threads. Though maybe that's just me. :3
6. I'm sorry, uberkids, but the house caretakers are stronger than you. You won't be able to pwn them.
7. HAVE FUN. That's the entire point. :P

I will be making an introduction post below. I'd be happy to address any questions, but please don't post anything in character until I post the intro.

Thanks!

"Yes sir!" Essex chirped, her thrusters blasting into activity and propelling her after Expiriment.

"'Ey sis, don' you need at least six more heroes to follow? Should I go get Genki? 'Essiehealplz!'" Ginstar teased, waiting on Toy.

"Shut up!" she cried back at him.

"Five G's? I'm there!" Ginstar grinned, walking over to Toy. "Sweet, I'm set. Ess, you ready?"

"Just one minute." Essex murmured, running diagnostics on her busters. "I want to make sure I'm at full capacity. We don't know what's going to happen at the disappearing point and I don't want to take any risks."

Looking over to Expiriment, the little android walked up to him, removing the tablecloth from around her shoulders and holding it up to him.

"Thank you for letting me borrow this." she said with a smile.

Ginstar shook his head.

"No go, amigo. I run, that's about it."

Essex blinked at the disappearance of Small Toy, and pulled up the tablecloth, wearing it around her shoulders as a sort of cloakish cape.

((He was. Oo))

Essex smiled a little at Small Toy as he peered under the tablecloth. Upon his shielding her, she stood on her tiptoes and rested her elbows on the drone's shoulders as she listened. She much preferred being out of the way.

"Eh, it makes no difference to me neither." Ginstar said with a shrug. "Though from the looks of that simulation, maybe we'd have the best chance stickin' together after all."

Essex let out a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose as if she had a migrane.

"For heavens' sakes." she murmured. "Would you please...please... not say that? When are you people going to realize that I'm an android. A robot. Whether or not I have sentience, a spirit, a soul, whatnot - Dr. West can rebuild me. It's not that big of a deal. As long as my chip is OK, it's not any sort of problem. I am artificial, and can be reproduced. You can not. At least not nearly as easily; and I'd rather not have it come to that. Are we at an understanding?"

Prikker could feel her grip tighten. Though she still was far from being able to hurt the troll, it was still a significantly vicelike grip.

"Now can we please focus on what's important here? Getting to this island? And not me?"

The tablecloth draped forward over her face again.

"If you haven't noticed, I don't like attention."

"Wo-ah..." Ginstar said with a laugh. "Calm down, calm down, kiddo. I'm just sayin' that if we got a chance we might as well take it, but it ain' up to me. I wasn't really plannin' on coming in the firs' place, but I can't let Essex get in more trouble without one of the sibs around."

He looked around at Expiriment, Hal, Reikoff, Prikker, Toy, Shinji, and the others before shrugging. "Though it looks like we'll be pretty well covered."

Kneeling, he began undoing the clasps on the large box that he'd been sitting on that he'd brought for Expiriment.

"Lissen, Ex..." he called to the hero. "If we're gonna do this, we may wanna do it soon. Let's get going to this island. If we're all going to go together, though, can I at least suggest sending a couple of us ahead as scouts?"

"I agree with Hal..." Essex murmured softly with a grateful look at Shinji, gathering the tablecloth around herself once again. "We should all go together for safety's sake. After all, someone with access to that sort of technology probably will be able to use some heavy firepower."

Ginstar looked over at Toy with a slight nod. "The Doc gave me the heavy duty version of the sonic defenses that Ess has. Included in that package is the ability to run faster than the speed of sound. It's why I'm lighter 'n most of the other replicants my size - a lot of my material is hollow an' streamlined."

Glancing down to Essex, the purple and green bot shook his head. "An' I'm against going as a group. It may be safer in numbers, but we're pretty much guaranteeing detection."

"...Okay, well then we have our path." Essex murmured from near the back of the crowd, the tablecloth still draped over her head and making her look like some kind of very tiny pink nun.

Ginstar shrugged. "I can go real fast, so I can carry Essex an' a couple other hombres if it's what you want. I wonder if that field can stop things goin' the speed of sound."

Essex glared at her older brother. "Don't...that's RECKLESS. Especially with me and potentially others hanging onto you."

"Then don't let go." he replied with a toothy grin.

Essex shrunk to the corner, appropriating a tablecloth to drape over her head.

Ginstar folded his arms, tapping his own busters with a smirk. "So we will all have to stay in a small area, right? In order to be properly protected by the generator." Tapping his chin, he glanced up. "....When we're shielded by the generator, will we be detectable by heat sensors or sonar or anything like that?"

Ginstar grinned. "S is just rubbin' off on me is all. Wanna see something cool? Lemme show you why we make toast jokes around her all the time."

Essex pouted. "Don't...--"

"Watch this." Ginstar grabbed up Essex's left hand and held it above her head. "Hold still, chica."

"Ginstar, stop it!!" Essex whined as she was lifted into the air by her hand, kicking her legs feebly. Pulling a slice of bread out of his pocket, Ginstar pushed a button on Essex's left buster. A pair of slots opened, and he shoved it in. The panel closed, and he dropped her with a squeak.

"Don't you think there's more important things to do?" Essex mumbled as her buster glowed red. Turning to Expiriment, she sighed. "So this force field generator will help us evade the sensors on the island? Okay...that sounds like a--"

She was interrupted by a popping sound as the bread ejected from her buster, lightly toasted.

"That's what I'm talkin' about." Ginstar said, patting her on the head, and scooping up the toast.

"You live to embarass me, don't you..." Essex pouted.

"Madre de pane tostada!" Ginstar uttered, peering over his sunglasses at the array of weapons.

Essex took Prikker's hand semi-firmly with a worried look on her face. It wouldn't do to lose one's head in a room with so many weapons...

Oh, a couple more I liked -
You Are Smart from Katamari Damacy - Helper! XD

And I finally

FINALLY

found one that's perfect for Essex in almost every way.

I'm Sensitive by Jewel.

I'm going to type up a music video to this one, too, because it contains most of the SH101 cast.