trans_9 | The thing you should know is that everyone is in really big trouble. Yeah. Even you.

Meanwhile, there is a 13-year-old girl nearby looking more than a little appalled. Sorry.

Sorry Will, the guy with the symbiote means Penelope doesn't really notice you. Symbiote! Sticking out its head!

"While I am unfamiliar with the term bending," Penelope says, "Super powers are abilities outside the realm of the human norm."

"I don't know what bending is-but she explained super powers pretty well," Pat says, nodding to Penelope. "A symbiote is what Tox is-they're aliens."

Toxin, meanwhile, has found himself distracted by Will's appalled staring. He slithers out further to sniff at her.

"Bending...? Like earthbending. Firebending. Waterbending. You control whichever element it is you're attuned to," She blinks and shrugs, "I guess bending isn't a super power then."

She listens quietly, then nods, "...so. Symbiotes are aliens?"

Chris is staring too!

He's not thirteen, but he does look pretty wimpy.

(His sludge, unlike most of the other "normal" humans', has a noticeably red-pink tinge to it.)

To Will's credit, she does not actually shy away. The symbiote's kinda gross, but . . . well, it's not the grossest (or the only gross thing) she has ever seen.

"Hhhhhi. How are you?"

~~Hey Chris! Characters with no 10-again to their Social rolls, unite!~~

Penelope files Mai's explanation away for future reference. Not like she doesn't know a thing or two about controlling an element.

"Super powers are generally a broad category; to my mind, control of a certain element would certainly fall under it." She doesn't mean it to sound like a lecture, really.

Problem is, it does.

"Yeah, there's definitely people who can control fire, water, that kind of thing-but I've never heard them be called benders. Just superheroes or supervillains." He nods to Mai. "Yeah. Tox was born on Earth, though."

The said symbiote squeaks at Will as he's spoken to, rearing up like a snake and widening his eyepatches. Look, he's not going to incite screaming or running! Really!

But Toxin quickly finds himself distracted as he picks up the scent of Chris' goop, sniffing madly and twisting around.

"What?"

"...Oh, crap. Kid, get back over here!"

"Well, the whole elemental control thing is common where I'm from. It's not unusual." She shrugs again, still rather impassive, "And... he's an 'alien'. From Earth? Where is that, exactly?"

Mai is ignoring everybody else. They're boring. Pat's outburts barely phases her and she turns to watch with a rather apathetic expression.

The Master Chief has been paying quiet attention this whole time, learning. Originally it was Toxin that caught his attention, symbiotes not being particularly normal on his side of the fence, and so he's been listening in on snatches of this conversation. It's a good distraction from the goo. While it doesn't quite trigger his gag reflex, it's much easier to down when you're not thinking about it.

"It's a planet," he puts in. "Birthplace of the human race. Sol system, third rock from the sun." It doesn't seem to be classified information here, particularly due to the lack of Covenant, and it's not his universe. Especially if there are people that don't know about Earth.

Tobias was struggling as he usually did with how to eat what Marco would call "the goo of the day" with a beak. It was never easy. He also wans't sure whether to be tense about the yeerks being around and not knowing who to trust, or happy to be able to kick some yeerk butt. At least he was fairly sure Ax was okay. Like most Andalites, he'd die by his own blade before he'd be infested.

< So what species is he? I've seen symbiotes but not like hiim before > Tobias asked. At least this one wasn't as annoying as the last symbionts he'd met, the Iskoort.

"Wh-what?" Chris says fumblingly, taken aback at Pat's sudden outburst in his direction. It's distracting enough he doesn't quite pick up on the presence of the psychic bird just yet...

Pat hears someone else add to the conversation, but he's a little busy attempting to wrangle his bodyguest to focus on it much. He sniffs the air himself, picking up on the scent of blood as well-the joys of having a symbiote-enhanced sense of smell. Looks like Toxin's right.

"There's blood somewhere," he says to Chris, frowning at Toxin as the symbiote keeps snuffling around. He sniffs again, then adds, "Not that old, either."

< I smell it too. > His hawk instincts were rising up, and he was curious about where it was coming from. < And sorry, I forgot I'd probably catch you off guard when I talked. I guess a talking bird is wierd even here. > He wanted to offer to change forms but a controller would know what he was in an instant. It was too risky. < I was just curious about your friend. > He nodded at Toxin

Connor and Murphy are...more or less drifting around the cafeteria, and so they've only just clued into the other group. Needless to say, they have nothing useful to contribute yet. At all.

"...Is that a fucking hawk?"

Mai responds blandly, "Looks like one, doesn't it?"

Murphy reaches into his pocket, staring at the hawk. As his hand closes around what he's looking for, his wide-eyed look narrows to a hate-filled glare.

"Sounds like a fuckin' Andalite," he snarls, and with that, he throws down a sonic grenade amongst the others. Making the most of his current advantage, he dives directly for Tobias, intent on capturing the enemy before it can fly off.

Connor snarls and pulls out his Berettas, aiming for Will and Pat with a heavy spray of gunfire. He's not playing nice, it's obvious; those are aimed to kill.

Bullets are bad, but sonic grenades are worse.

While Pat and Tox are doing a halfway decent job of avoid the gunfire, with Toxin trying to heal up the bullets that do hit, the grenade is a little more problematic. Even scrambling to the best of their ability, the duo can't get out of range fast enough.

Toxin can't hold his shape against the sonic attack and goes to stringy goop with an angry shriek, while Pat just goes down-and both are out cold for the moment.

Chris has collapsed under a table, seemingly helpless, curled up on himself in a fetal position.

That one of his feet is propped against the table's base is entirely coincidental. Right?

Mai is taken completely off-guard. The sonic grenade disorients her and she tumbles back from her seat and hits the floor with a thump. She tries to pull herself upright, tries to clear her head. It's not working and instead she's crawling away, ears ringing. She has to stand up. There's a threat.

One minute they were talking about cheeseburgers (which is still something that doesn't sound appetizing at all), when everything seems to go wrong.

Sparhawk half slumps in his chair as the sonic grenade goes off, ears ringing even as his head spins. He shakes his head, trying to focus past the overwhelming noise, but it's the sound of gunfire that precipitates an immediate reaction.

Disorientated, eyes glazed and occasionally shaking his head, Sparhawk tries to make a lunge for Connor. He'll probably end up hitting a table or something, but there's people in danger.

John is quick, but he's not that quick. The grenade's not close enough for him to grab it and throw it away, and he takes the shock of the detonation like everybody else. His ears are ringing, his head throbs, but that doesn't matter. His reaction may be a little delayed, but he's moving.

With gritted teeth and a pounding skull, the Spartan draws his sidearm and fires at Murphy, the nearer brother. He's aiming for the leg. The goal is to wound, not kill. To take him out of commission.

'Where the hell is Stacy?!'

Connor spares a glance for Sparhawk, sneering. He aims a shot at him, as well, to wound only. Sparhawk would be useful.

He turns back to trying to shoot down Pat and Will.

Penelope is taking cover under one of the tables, clutching her ears.

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