Janista, Shockwave, and Glittergirl sat outside the girl's dormitory waiting on Puma to arrive. They knew she had gone on her morning run, but they waited impatiently because of the excitement that the day held for them. They sat on the ornately carved benches and discussed the matters of the world in a way that only teenage girls can do.
Glittergirl giggled as she spoke, "I can't wait to get there, I saw this dress in the window of Bandera's that will make the guys go wild."
Shockwave showed mock surprise. "You mean you are interested getting the attention of the guys here. Who would have guessed?", she joked.
Janista just smiled her quiet smile and Shockwave burst into raucous laughter and patted Glittergirl, who was pretending to be shocked as well.
Clarice Ferguson, A.K.A. Blink, had just become the new reigning Princess of the Hellfire Club., and to celebrate this fact, she had offered to take the student's shopping at the local galleria. Although Gomurr, had authorized the trip, the girl's knew it was only the influence of Tangerine, Gomurr's new partner in running the school that had gotten them out of today's studies.
"Where the heck is she?" Glittergirl spoke again. "If that dress is gone, then I'll be forced to glitter spark Sasha's furry little butt."
"Good plan," Shockwave continued, "Get into a catfight with the girl that can really turn into a cat."
The three girls laughed again, little knowing the fate of their friend and teammate.
Meanwhile in the men's dormitory, a game of deadly seriousness was being played. Psi-Shot looked at his cards and placed his bet. Johnny Blaze looked nervously around the table. He was new to the game, but that wasn't what made him nervous. He was just nervous all the time. Johnny was perhaps the least comfortable with his powers of all the students in the school. His mutation allowed him to move at velocities nearing the speed of sound, but he seldom used his abilities and when he did, it was usually to avoid confrontation. Belasco, one of the newest students, looked around the table also, but his eyes held a predatory gaze. As a demon, Belasco also held certain abilities. His particular power lay in mass shifting. He could increase his mass and strength to staggering proportions. The only problem was, the larger he became, the angrier and more dark his thoughts were, so he was infinitely careful not to allow himself to slide into that dark state of mind that most demons reveled in. Coming from Limbo where time was constantly shifting, this Belasco was very young for a demon and his peers in that nether-realm had cast him out for his noble sentiments. Although other manifestations of him were some of the most evil creatures in existence, this young demon prince had a noble heart that he tried to keep hidden behind his mischievious grin and devilish good looks. The other members of the game followed the play around the table. The massively strong Kid Sampson arrogantly cast his money on the table, and the human rocket Cannonball also placed his bet. All eyes turned once again to Psi-Shot.
"Call or raise, flesh sack," said Belasco. "I don't live in Limbo anymore and I'm not getting any younger here."
Psi-Shot jumped and then blushed. The others looked at him strangely and then allowed their eyes to follow what he had been so intently staring at. They looked out the window and saw five young women discussing their upcoming shopping trip. By this time, Glittergirl, Shockwave and Janista had been joined by Blink, the new black Princess and Tangerine their new head-mistress.
The young men began to cackle and hoot at their friend Psi-Shot.
"What's wrong Psi-Shot," Sampson joked. "I'd ask if cat had your tongue if Puma was down there, but I've got a feeling it's a certain blue haired psionic that's got your attention."
Psi-Shot blushed at the mention of Janista. Although he was an actual member of the black court with his position of Scribe, Psi-Shot was usually shy when it came to talking about matters such as this. He had been watching Janista since his first days at the school. Her quiet beauty always seemed to enter his mind, whenever he allowed it to wander even for a moment, and now it had happened again.....HOW EMBARASSING.
"I wasn't looking at anything," Psi-Shot said hurriedly, "I was just deciding on what to bet."
The others laughed and grinned and continued on with their game.
Sasha ran through the woods on her way back to the Upstarts Academy with an almost lyrical grace. Her transitional form allowing her to move with catlike agility, while still enjoying her almost human appearance. As Puma, a member of the Black Upstarts, Sasha Davidson used her abilities in support of the Black Hellfire Club, but this was one of those moments that a person just lives for the sake of living. This was the time, when she could let the beast inside of her run free. She stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. The chill breeze that blew through the trees tickled the hair on her pointed ears as she listened carefully to the forest sounds. There was a silence in the forest that shouldn't be there. Her cat-like tail whipped back and forth behind her. There was a scent on the breeze that was unfamiliar to her. She removed her backpack silently and laid it aside She then concentrated on becoming one with the forest again. Her features that had once been human although with catlike attributes, now shifted until any trace of her human form was unrecognizable. Her body also morphed as she completed her transition into full puma mode. She sniffed the air once again. In her completely animal form, her senses were keener than any other creature of the forest, but she still couldn't identify the smell that had interrupted her morning run. Sasha took one more cautious step forward as her body tensed in readiness. Whatever was out there, was coming closer. Then, with a move faster than even her animal reflexes could follow, Sasha was swept up into a net, and promptly anesthetized with a knock out dart. The cloaked figure, pushed a button on his gauntlet and the cloaking field that covered him dropped.
"It begins," came the muffled voice from beneath the dusky cowl.