((Ok, now the rules.))
((Enrolling in the Academy is a choice, no one forced you to enroll and no one dragged you out here.))
((As for how you enrolled is up to you. Maybe you were approached by a recruiter, perhaps you were referred by a former student or an instructor. Maybe your parents knew a guy who knew a guy who...just be creative.))
((The Academy is housed on a secret island. SECRET. You don't know where it is, you only get there using one of the Academy transports that picks you up. The location of the island is highly protected, even if you're a cyborg with internal compass and GPS you'll find those scrambled enough to keep you from knowing where in the world the Academy is located.))
((You can only enter and leave the Academy using their transports and only for a field trip with other students or if you're dropping out. We're not going to fly people in and out as they please. However, you can arrive at any time, you don't need to wait for a batch of students to come in.))
((If you try to fly out, swim out, or teleport away from the island you'll find yourself instantly brought back. You're not a prisoner but we can't have people just walking in and out without permission. It's for your own safety as well, it's a long way to any other land and there are sharks in those waters.))
((This also means that if your character has a nemesis, unless they are a student as well they cannot come to the school and confront you. Keep those encounters in field trips otherwise.))
((The Academy is on a tropical island that is not much more than a few miles across. There are no native people but quite a bit of wildlife. You'll find forests, beaches, and mountains if you go out exploring. Be careful though.))
((The Academy is a large building. There will be dorms, classrooms, recreation rooms, gyms, a library, and shop rooms and laboratories where you can construct items with the permission of the faculty. The gyms vary from weight room to swimming pool to an actual danger room. As it contains part of a decommisioned naval and air base, there are some deserted areas that the faculty would not like you going into but it is not possible for them to keep everyone out all the time. *hint hint*))
((No weapons allowed unless it is an important part of your character (i.e. gunslinger with his special gun, swordsman with his favorite sword, a mastermind's robots.) If you need armor for some reason it is allowed. Weapons must remain on safety and/or holstered/sheathed when inside the Academy. If you feel the need to fight then do it outside.))
((There is no school uniform. We respect your individuality and consider such things as uniforms irrelevant to your learning.))
((Most instruction will be on practical knowledge and will be hands on. Expect a lot of field trips to both Paragon City and the Rogue Islands.))
((Students must be no younger than the early teens and no older than the early 20's. The only adult characters allowed are teachers. You can make both a student and a teacher. The student is yours to control only but anyone can control the teacher character. Multiple students per player are allowed but keep it to a reasonable number, like no more than 4.))
((Most importantly, student powers.))
((Keep it reasonable. If you were already Superman then you wouldn't be here. There is no concept of access to powers being restricted by level, but even if you have what is a level 38 power in the game that doesn't mean it works as strongly as it would at level 38 here. Let's say that everyone is of a strength level between 14 to 20. They may be fairly new to their powers or they may have some experience using them, but they are not seasoned veterans who have been everywhere and done everything.))
((Fighting Rules.))
((No powergaming, no god-modding. If you need an explanation, ask.))
((No one-shotting other players. If you punch them, you can write that it hit them, but they get to decide how much it hurt. You don't get to say that they were knocked out instantly and will be in a coma for the rest of the week. Understand?))
((Try to be a good sport. If the fight goes on too long either someone needs to lose or they need to call a draw. Remember, not every fight has to be won and it is more character building to lose once in a while.))
((Character Alignment))
((Everyone is somewhere in a neutral state between good and evil. You can lean slightly to one side and even oscillate between the two. You can be mostly good and have some bad flaws, or maybe be a selfish [censored] who does have some redeeming qualities. You can be a mercenary, vigilante, anti-hero, avenger; whatever as long as you are not strictly a good guy or bad guy. This is a RP for people who exist in the grey area in between.))
((You don't need to make a totally new character. If you want to bring an existing one from another thread in that is fine. However, this does take place in the same timeline as Superhero 101 and Supervillain 101, although it begins at a time later than those stories. Therefore if you 'defect' to this story you might want to write yourself out of the other one in order to preserve continuity and reduce confusion.))
((You won't be forced to fight something you don't want to. If, for example, one team is going on a 'field trip' to do a mayhem mission in Paragon City and you have an issue with that you will not be forced to go as there will be another team going on a trip to the Rogue Islands to pick a fight with some villains which you could join instead.))
The Faculty
-----------
Mr. Montressor:
No one knows his first name or if they do they are not going to divulge it. He is the headmaster and owner of the Academy, at least that is what we are told. He stands at an even six feet with black hair and a tanned complexion. He is always seen in a business suit that is always well pressed and never seems to get wrinkled or dirty. He places a high value on secrets and as such his past and powers are unknown.
Alisia Noirne:
Assistant to the headmaster, she runs many of the day to day affairs of the Academy. Headmaster Montressor rarely sees students himself except by appointment and he frequently leaves on unspecified business for days at a time, without prior notice. A blonde woman of fair skin, she stands at an average height with an athletic build. She is an expert martial artist with a strong resistance to physical damage and teachs the courses on hand to hand combat and survival training.
Professor P'stuer:
The professor of sciences and one of the most unusual members of the faculty. He is a Rikti who has come into Montressor's employ and is unusually knowledgeable in both human sciences and Rikti technology. It is unknown if he is a true Rikti or a former human, but he is perfectly capable of teaching human students and quite fond of his work. He is rarely seen outside of the science wing and never in the field. He has psionic powers and access to both a suit of Mentalist armor and a Rikti blaster.
((That is what we'll be starting with. We'll be added more teachers as I and others come up with them. If you have a teacher you want to create send me a PM and we'll see if he/she will fit in.))
((Now to get us started.))
Alisia Noirne leaned against the railing and looked upon the ocean, where she could just see the approaching vessel. It was a hydroplane boat, one of several owned by the Academy and it was now beginning to slow down for its final approach and gradually sank its hull back into the water. Within several minutes it would be docking within this enclosed pier and the latest batch of students would be disembarking.
She wondered where the hell Montressor was. He said that he would be here to greet the new students himself, but as usual he'd probably arrive fashionably late. Unfortunately it was him who decided just how late was considered to be fashionable.
There were no classes today as this new group would need time to go through orientation and get situated in their new accomadations. That is why she was not surprised to see the two students arrive on the platform with her.
Anna Nethema and Cobalt Stinger, as they prefered to be called, had been enrolled for some time now. They had once been captive students at Greywing Academy, a treacharous place that Lord Recluse used to weed out the weak and find strong, young minds that who could indoctrinate into his army. The girls had escaped and eventually ended up down here. They claimed that they were much happier and as far as Alisia could tell, they were.
The girls stood out in a crowd like a sore thumb: Anna with her ashen skin and gold eyes, with small black horns protruding through red hair; and Cobalt with her lime green ponytails and the cybernetic right eye. The two had a bond that bordered on sisterhood, though antagonistic at times.
"So you've come to see the new recruits?" Alisia inquired. "Or did Montressor volunteer you as student representatives?" The older woman wore a mischievous smile.
Anna as usual was the one to answer. "We came down on our own. Thought we'd see if there are any familiar faces."
"Well, you got here just in time." Alisia replied, looking down as the long black boat pulled up next to the pier, deckhands tossing out lines to be secured. "Let's head on down and see who we got."
((Alright, off the boat now everyone.))
The first being off the boat was...a dog?
A border collie sprinted down the ramp, looking as if it were in dire distress, a thin whine coming from it as it looked around in a panic. Hurrying to the dockside away from the boat, it perched over the water.
"BLEAAAH!!!"
A vomiting dog. What a representative for this bundle of students to have.
When it was done, the dog shakily got back into a sitting position...and a puff of smoke enveloped it. Suddenly it was a girl, looking to be in her late teens. She had a short, perky haircut, her hair black with white bangs streaking on either side of her face. Her ears were dog-ears; pointed triangles atop her head. A shaggy black tail with a white tip weakly rested behind her, definitely not wagging. She wore an orange T-shirt emblazoned with a star and a black open jacket over it, and khaki cargo pants. Pulling up her orange sneakers to tie them, the new arrival grumbled.
"I hate boats."
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
The next student to exit the landing craft made the ramp creak a bit under his, or maybe its, weight.
Bits of red electricity coruscated up and down the seven foot tall brute's body. The trouble the ramp was having was quickly identified to its protest at having the student's metal filled body walking down it.
"*bbrrzzzzt, krrzzzzt, zzzzzrt*?" he crackled at the small dog person and then shook his elongated, eyeless head.
"Are you ok there?" he finally got out, his voice deep but with an underlying crackle of stale electronics.
When the dog girl answered with an emphatic but sarcastic nod, the brute nodded and looked around. Stepping its giant mechanical hooves onto solid ground, the electricity that had been crackling on him channeled down into the ground as he became grounded. His thick, white banded arms tapped the Cyclops-esque visor that covered his eyes and then he looked up at the people surveying the new arrivals.
"This shall be interesting," he said as a bit of electricity suddenly lanced away from his spiked shoulder pads and arced into the ground.
This unexpected discharge caused him to jump in surprise a little bit and worridly slap a hand over the offending piece of armor.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
((Bing!))
The next entry nearly fell out of the boat.
"Whooooooooa. Dat wuz a kraZee ride!" Snikker the troll said to noone.
"Dat was almost as gud as dat 'dyne dey gayvme when me got dat testin' f'r da Cownsul!" He giggled, starting to fall again. But he stopped himself.
With a solid construct of darkness.
Shaking his head, orienting himself, he surveys the other two students. A dog and a 'bot? Nodding to them, eyeing them as seriously as a Troll can, he sits down on the beach, juggling small bolts of negative energy. He didn't know if he would like this all that much. Why couldn't he get sent to that goody-goody school like his brother, Prikker? They coulda really screwed things up there....But this looked boring.
Skah.
((Any problems with Trollish can be asked. It took me a bit to get it; Skah is profane. It's pretty much the only Trollish curse, but as you can imagine, it's used quite a bit!))
Getting to her feet, Rosalind stretched. Throwing up wasn't her favorite pastime, and she had spent a lot of time halfway leaned over the ocean during the trip over, so she hadn't had much of a chance to see the other potential students. She took that opportunity now, looking at the massive robot and the troll.
"Woah, what a motley crew so far." she said with a dry grin. "You guys here for the merc school too?"
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"Skah, noh, dis is ma trop-ee-kul vaykayshun!"
"Akorse ah'm goin' ta mersenairee skool!!"
Shiro stepped calmly out of the boat and looked around. His hand rubbed the back of his neck, he had been mostly drunk during the trip. His eyes drifted across the proceedings, half-closed and trying to focus. "Where am I now?" he asked no one in particular. "I should really stop getting drunk," he chuckled to himself, "Nah. What fun would that be."
Shiro stumbled warily out into the throng of students. His short brown hair looked mussed up, which mirrored his aqua jacket and matching slacks. His short, lithe form belied his strength. His bare, tattooed chest visible beneath the jacket as he patted himself down. Letting out a victory chuckle, he removed the hidden flask from his pocket and took a big swig.
Shiro grinned big, as he returned the flask to it's hiding spot. Flipping out a cigarette, his focus finally returning and surveyed the surroundings. He nodded in approval as he found something sturdy to lean on.
"Is there somewhere else to be here *krrzzzzt*?" the brute asked, his head titled quizically.
Looking around, the brute shoved his hand out toward Snikker.
"I am called Tech-Alien. *brrzt* -ery nice to meet you," Tech said.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
Snikker takes his hand and shakes very heartily. "Me'z Snikka, latz look awesum 'n dat armor."
"Hey come on, I didn't know if you were here to 'see the sights of Whatever Island. Sheesh, gimme a break." Rosalind huffed.
The next moment she was on her tiptoes, sniffing the air. "Aaah!" she said with a satisfied smile. "The smell of the ocean! I love it! Long 's I'm not ON it."
The smell of cigarette smoke made her face twist for a moment and she glanced over at Shiro. Approaching him, she shoved her hands in her pockets.
"Looks like someone's loosened up." she noted.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
"So, see anyone you know?" Miss Noirne asked as the three of them descended to the base of the pier.
"I do." Cobalt grinned and tugged at Anna's sleeve, pointing towards Shiro.
Well what a small world after all. She thought to herself once she saw him.
-------------------------------
Kathode stepped out from inside the boat blinked twice as her eyes adjusted to the light. So far she was not impressed but remembered that this was only a boat dock, it didn't represent the entire facility. At least the air is much cleaner. she thought as she took a deep breath.
With catlike grace she stepped down the ramp, tail swishing side to side with each step, and arrived onto the pier where she looked at the motley bunch she had traveled here with, including herself. Her black clothes made a strong contrast with her bone white skin and the black fur on her tail matched the shaggy hair on her head. A pair of black cat ears poked through the top and picked up the voices of someone approaching.
She turned to look at the older blonde women approaching with what she guessed to be other students based on their apparent age. "Is this our welcoming commitee?" She asked.
((Hey, at least one catgirl is required. 
))
((I'm going to wait until later today to do the formal introductions, give time for some more people to show up.))
"*krrzzzzt* Thank you for the compliment, Snikka, but this is not armor. This is my skin," Tech-Alien said as he shook Snikker's hand.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
*a 9 foot tall humanoid steps off the boat and onto the dock. He's wearing a set of black crey issue powerarmor and with blue highlights and a full length black cape. The spikes on his shoulder pads look very sharp but oddly do not have any reflection from the glaring sun coming off of them. His armor is crisscrossed with blue electrical circuits and his head is completely enveloped in a helmet with a blue monocular vision sensor over the right eye. As he steps off the boat the boat raises up a few inches having far less weight on it now, though the docks creak heavily under his immense bulk.*
This place looks about as boring as my time in the zig but it could be good for a few laughs.
*he says in a menacing, hollow sounding voice that belies his intelligence. he walks towards the group, causing the boards on the dock to groan and strain with every step.*
Name's Midnightslasher, call me Slasher.
*he extends a large metal covered hand that looks like it could crush a small car*
Nice ta meet ya.
(side note: he is a hero, search for his crey file [i'm too lazy to post it] to see his origin)
Shiro chuckled as he exhaled the smoke directly above him, "Look's like ya have." Shiro looked the girl up and down. He nodded slightly to himself as he took another drag off the cigarette. He fished the flask out of it's hiding place and offered it her. "Any idea where we are?"
Rosalind waved the flask off with a little grin. "No thanks. Alchohol makes me giddy. I'm not always as level-headed and serious as I am right now."
Again with her nose in the air, she turned....
...Cat?
Her tail began to wag reflexively.
Calm down, Rosie...Come on, girl. Stay. Staaaaaaay. Stay.
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
After speaking with her contact back at Greywing Academy, the truth was finally revealed to Kei that the contact was not a double-agent at all... but a mercenary, trying to make a buck on the side.
Kei was happy to finally feel at ease and know that she could try to do some things on her own. She was not fond of taking strict orders and she was not thrilled to be learning in the ways of Lord Recluse. Deep inside of her was two minds trying to fight for good and evil all at the same time.
One side of her mind was a 15 year old Japanese girl who just wanted to have friends and and have fun at the same time... but the other side of her mind was an adult black cat, who wanted to stalk and prey for food... like any normal cat should. The two minds kept battling constantly for control for the past month or so after Kei sneaked out of Greywing but as soon as the contact had found Kei and got all of the information that he needed, He decided that Greywing was not the right place for Kei.
"I think yer gonna like this school better. Recluse is an idiot for trying to make ya a pet animal. Where I am gonna send ya is what I think going to be much better." The contact said.
Kei's cat-ears perked up as she heard the details... a mercenary school, with being able to do what she pleased, to an extent. There were no straight lines and no having to make decision strictly one way or the other... just go on the path that she decided was the best.
It wasn't often that her cat-side and her human side agreed on things.... but in this instance, both of them agreed to go into this new school. The contact led her onto the small plane and into the new life that Kei was about to embark on.
As they landed, Kei looked around and seen some familiar faces... such as Shiro, Cobalt and Anna... but also some new faces and things around her that didn't seem to be familiar. Kei started acting like a cat would, feeling out the territory and hoping that either one of the new people... or one of the familiar faces could find her.
(OOC: This is something that my character in SV 101 is more accustomed to. I hope that you all do not mind another refugee *Smiles* Don't worry... This character has already been written out of SV 101. I will try to post as much as I can... but please try not to have 30 posts in one day... I can not keep up with that pace.)
"This is starting to feel like a family reunion." Anna commented as she walked up to the slowly growing group. "I see that Greywing didn't suit the two of you either." She said as she looked at Kei and Shiro.
"How many more are on the boat?" Cobalt asked no one in particular.
So we have the two schools, Golden Eagle High for the heroes and Greywing Academy for the villains. The problem is that not everyone fits in one of those two categories, there is after all, a lot of grey area in between. Where do you go when you're not good enough to be a hero but not bad enough to be a villain? Where does one go if they do not wish to be a lackey to the Freedom Phalanx or forced to serve Lord Recluse? Maybe you don't want to stick to one side, you want to decide per case which battles to fight and on which side you want to fight them on. Maybe you want to use your powers for personal profit rather than simply for good or evil.
Welcome to Montressor's Mercenary Academy.
Here you will find instructors who will help you learn and hone your gifts. You will learn what the modern day soldier of fortune needs to know to survive and thrive in the post-metahuman world. You will come to know yourself better than others do, and know your enemies better than they know themselves.
Why stick to one extreme? There is a wide range between hero and villain and you can explore it all. Let Recluse fight his personal war himself, you have yourself to take care of.
((As for the story, there is no real set story, this is an open-RP. However, their will be events that affect the students and faculty which can change the path which the story is taking at the time. PM me with your ideas for mini-arcs and events that you'd like to be incorporated.))