-Of Pranks and Finals (Part 3) by Morpheus

Domoviye
Whitman Cottage, Friday morning, Dec 14th, 2007

Poor Mary needs strong headache medicine, it should be prescribed to her for being Tink's roommate. Fun fairy, boring fairy, no, just no, Tink. Oh no, Mary gave Tink an idea on who would be a better fairy, I pity whoever it is.

Domoviye
Dickinson Cottage, Friday morning, Dec 14th, 2007

Someone has to have used magic or a device to pull off this mirror prank, their reflections coming in and talking to them, good grief. Interest and Khrysalis are both dealing with it, did they hit all the mirrors? I doubt this will even get in the top 100 weirdest things to have happened at Whateley over the years.

Domoviye
The Library, Friday morning, Dec 14th, 2007

Ouch, Jane is in very rough shape after the combat final and Smile has to deal with the fallout as her roommate. Oh no, Tink wants Smile to do good fairy, and bad fairy with her to annoy people for fun. Oh no, Smile agrees to listen to the idea, I have a bad feeling about this.

Morpheus
Friday morning, Dec 14th, 2007

Centurion and Roulette, no. I hope Roulette doesn't have a burnout during the combat final. You can do it, Amy! Blackbox has a point, your burnout issue could endanger your life in a combat final. Gear she is looking to try out, what have you been making, Amy? Alyss and Chris wish her good luck, against Centurion she is going to need it.

A wooded area this time, they sure are mixing up the the combat finals this year. Coil gun, I hope it works how she expects. Yes, you have been spending too much time around Melissa and Monkeywrench to want to say that right now. Is her coil gun a type of railgun? Ouch, that limited amount of ammo for the coil gun.

Needle gun would just make the zombies walking pincushions if they got close enough to grapple. Energizer brick with energizer 5 rating, yikes, no wonder he has given Gwen so much trouble. Hhm, what idea has Amy gotten that luring in the zombies is a good idea? Nearly two dozen and...she has a singularity grenade to launch from her coil gun! Sent to her by her mom, even still those things are brutal.

Two normal grenade rounds and the rest of the zombies are toast, that coil gun combined with her intelligence and creativity is scary. Yes, avoid Centurion if at all possible, fighting it out won't improve your grade and risk injury. Aww, show off and prove what she is capable of, I doubt anyone will want to mess with her if they think she has a singularity grenade on her.

Gets to the clearing with the helicopter and the body of the man with the cure, but Centurion is approaching from the other side of the clearing. Centurion is not even slowed down by the zombies as he goes for the briefcase, and Amy is forced to use her surprise, a golden metal sphere the size of a baseball. Throwing the sphere it ricochets off several surfaces, hitting targets, and then reaches a small group of zombies only to detonate. Centurion is down on the ground, that ricochet grenade is impressive.

Amy runs in and grabs the briefcase, the corpse animates as a zombie and tries to slow her down, but Amy breaks free and runs for it. Centurion yells at her to fight him fairly, this is a combat final, but fighting isn't required, why don't more students understand that? Darn it! Burnout, poor Amy, she was so close to winning and suffers a burnout, has to watch Centurion protect her from the zombies as she blacks out.

Wakes up in a room in Doyle, a familiar sight, a more serious burnout than her usual micro-burnouts. Alyss there watching over her and informs Amy that the nurse said she is stable again. Energizer mode and they declared the match a draw, huh, didn't see that coming.

Alyss shrugged. “After you want down, Centurion protected you from the zombies until they ended things.”

“What?” Amy gasped in surprise. “Centurion…? But he’s…”

“Yeah, I know,” Alyss said with another shrug. “Surprised me too. But just because someone is an assho…jerk in one situation, that doesn’t mean they can’t do right in another. People are complicated that way.”

There is hope for Centurion after all. Shoot, I was impressed with Amy, she showed her ability to adapt to her different powers and use them to her benefit well.

Ian Henderson has to listen to the idiots in Emerson's comments on how his combat final should have ended.

“Good job, Centurion,” Tektonix said with a nod as he walked past.

“Damn it,” Ian growled to himself as he began to get up.

Ian, you did a good thing and protected someone who was having a medical emergency, you should feel proud of yourself. Lewis, stop adding fuel to the fire of Ian's negative feelings about how the match ended. Oh, so Lewis cares about a fair fight, maybe the staff should let another student arrange one with him sometime soon.

“No,” Ian responded firmly. “Not like that…” He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. “Roulette was sick…for real. Seriously sick. Maybe even dying. No real man is going to just ignore that… I had to protect her.”

Okay, he is definitely a complicated individual, I don't like how he has treated Gwen, but he showed that he has a code of honor and morals today. The opponent cheated first, but what do you consider your opponent cheating first?

Cerberus noticed how badass she was before she went down, Broadsword, no, just no. A lot of the Underdogs during out to be secret badasses, they have to be to survive at Whateley. Ian wants a rematch, oh boy, I hope if she wins the rematch he doesn't accuse her of cheating.

Domoviye
Friday late morning, Dec 14th, 2007

Interest plans to go all out in her combat final, yay. Oh crap, Laugh Riot is her opponent, this is bad. Trying to get violent students to kill her, this girl needs serious help. Cityscape this time, Interest splits into 12 dupes with 4 in each group, that is one of the best ways of searching I've seen so far. Low ability to think due to the number of dupes out, one of them takes out a zombie from the description.

Oh, good signal to the clones to fade away when intelligence is needed. Too far away to get their memories, what is the distance limit for Interest to gain memories from one of her clones? Laugh Riot shows up and always good to keep one clone out to survive against a rager. I forgot how fight-happy Interest is, charging at LR. A duplicator who knows how to fight is a dangerous foe, Interest has learned well from Ito.

Yikes! Exemplar 4, and just ripes out the clone's throat, no wonder they set up this fight with someone like Interest who can survive against Laugh Riot. BMA and gymnastics combined with group tactics, Interest is an opponent I would hate to face. *eyes bug out* Does that to an injured and dying clone to prevent some of the injuries from passing to the nearby Interests', she is scary. This is a brutal fight and Interest needs a chance to catch her breath or else she is going to lose and her remaining clone will be too far away to gain the memories to know what happened.

Simulants from Alchemical and Interest is still in that rough of shape after her clone got the McGuffin and won the match, Laugh Riot is a terrifying opponent. Dang, the surviving Interest has no memories of the fight against Laugh Riot, that is what recordings are for.

Morpheus
Friday afternoon, Dec 14th, 2007

Gwen Wylann and Dana walk across the campus, talking of Gravmax being teased about what happened in his match against Porcelain. Darn, I wish we could have gotten a picture of Drama Queen's face for her response to that match. A package in the path that looks like one of Jokey Smurf's, leave it alone, girls. Trixie's outfit is basically a Smurf costume, don't open that box or it will explode!

Grit and Ribbit show up, know it is some kind of joke, but are curious what is inside, oh boy. Ribbit, don't do the "Are you chicken?" bit with Grit, leave the box alone. Darn, goaded him until Grit opened the box and it exploded, Trixie jumping out and yelling surprise, I just knew she was a fan of Jokey Smurf. Ultimate glitter bomb, Trixie! Gwen has glitter all over her and needs a shower, that PK field of Dana's sure is handy to block even glitter.

Fiddlerfox
Whitman Cottage, Friday afternoon, Dec 14th, 2007

Catherine and Rhys walk down the hallway after class only to hear a song being sung in Catherine's general direction. A song from Disney's Robin Hood and it is Imp behind it.

"Good afternoon, Miss Fox! Mighty fishy you being here at the moment, wouldn't you say?"

Catherine blinked innocently. "Why, whatever do you mean Professor Imp?"

Why is it fishy when they head to the cafeteria together? What is Imp hinting at?

Domoviye
Friday late afternoon, Dec 14th, 2007

Catherine aka Glass sits in the stands with the Underdogs and hasn't had her combat final yet, poor girl. Yikes! Nightmares like that, I wonder how many students and possibly some of the staff had nightmares due to that combat final.

Ouch, the Michigan foster care program just shipping her off to Whateley at the first sign of her being a mutant with power. OMAG, One Man Army Group who can make sixteen clones of himself, this fight is so unfair to Catherine. Great, and he is a creep as well. Anna and Darlene try to encourage her, I hope Catherine has a chance. Glass has her MID scanned, I wonder why. OMAG has 5 minutes or he forfeits.

I always get put up against someone a lot stronger than me. Why? What did I do wrong?”

He snorted. “You weren't supposed to fight OMAG.”

It was her turn to ask, “What?”

“You were supposed to face Just Me.”

“WHAT?! Are you trying to get me killed?”

*sigh* She doesn't realize Just Me wouldn't try to kill her if she didn't attack her with lethal force. Rats, OMAG shows up before time is up.

Catherine, stop thinking you can't win this, you don't have to fight to win. Just be smart, you know how to avoid threats, use your brain and you can do this. OMAG saves her from a group of zombies only to grope her butt, I really don't like him. Eww, OMAG needs to be taught not to sexually harass women. A date with him if he gets her to the end safely, she says no funny stuff, he better live up to that. He is creative with how he uses his clones, I will give him that.

OMAG makes good use of his clones, now if only he could keep his hands to himself, why hasn't the staff punished him for his SA of female students? Groping and coping a feel without permission is SA! Ouch, so close only to get swarmed and OMAG gets knocked down by a big zombie.

OMAG dropped the chip and Catherine runs over to take it, rushes up the ladder, and inserts the USB chip to win.

“Sorry OMAG! I really wanted to win for once,” she shouted down, almost apologetically.

His face turned red and it looked like he was about to start cursing. Then he paused. “You're still going on the date with me, right? I got you here safely like I said.”

Wincing, and wishing she wasn't so nice and scared of making an enemy, she nodded. “Yes.”

Eh, as long as he gets a date out of this OMAG is happy. A double date with Anna along, OMAG would be too scared of squirrel retaliation to try anything.

Domoviye
The Quad, Friday late afternoon, Dec 14th, 2007

Tink circling on the watch for their target as Smile hopes not to get the blame for this. Oh no, not this bit on Imp, she might play along or might get annoyed, I don't know which would be worse. Tink, that is sadistic to suggest to Imp. Bwahaha, this bit is too much. Oh no, Imp has sent them after Carson to give her some of their 'good' advice. Tink, don't listen to Imp, this is how she gets you to for trying to prank her.

“You're evil,” Smile said, pointing at Imp. Then she turned to Tink, “And if you listen to her, you're an idiot.”

Good, Smile shows common sense to bail on this.

Morpheus
Friday late afternoon, Dec 14th, 2007

Melissa is with Chris, Monkeywrench, and Alyss eating dinner, but not in the mood for eating. Worried about Amy, they are keeping her overnight for observation. Ouch, Sapphire got some of the glitter blown on her, just how much is there spread all over campus now? Darqueheart with glitter and some of the paint from Tink's prank, eep.

Imp shows up and has one hand behind her back, uh oh. Glitter, one of the most dangerous of the craft materials. Plaid paint bucket and a paintbrush, boy, those devisors got that made quick Melissa teleports away, you can run, but you can't hide.

Morpheus
Friday early evening, Dec 14th, 2007

Imp in a closed-door meeting with Carson, this is serious. Oof, she got hit by the glitter as well, along with Hartford, this has gone too far. A complete ban and zero tolerance will just make the pranksters get sneakier and harder to catch. I like how she phrases it in a way that Ms. Hartford would understand. Yikes, the two options the ultimatum gives for when a prankster is caught, neither is good.

“They need a release valve,” the Imp mused aloud.

“What was that?” Hartford asked.

“I have an idea,” the Imp announced with a broad grin. “I say, we bell cats…”

Oh boy, Trixie is about to see why Imp is the master and she is still a student of the pranking arts.

Domoviye
Saturday morning, Dec 15th, 2007

That outfit of Tink's, she is going to do something unusual to paint. Paint imprints of her wings on canvas, now that is unique. Only at Whateley is an understatement, Imp.

Domoviye
The Quad, Saturday morning, Dec 15th, 2007

Tink and Smile do the fun fairy, boring fairy bit on Alyss telling her to tie up Bloodwolf in pink ribbons. Do it! Melissa, if you had been around for the shoulder angel incident you would know why they were banned. Listen to Alyss, if Melissa thinks something is a bad idea, stop doing it already! Uh oh, Darqueheart storms towards Tink, pissed off the paint still hasn't come off.

“Hey!” Smile shouted in surprise. “What's the rush!”

“Can't talk! Running before the shadows eat me!” Tink said as they headed for the woods.

Tink, you pranked her, now you have to face the consequences.

Morpheus
Doyle Hall, Saturday late morning, Dec 15th, 2007

Melissa is a silly girl, it is like she wants to get caught sneaking in to see Amy. Sapphire points out it is normal visiting hours, Melissa is just being a goof again. Aww, Melissa really cares for her friends. Fubar giving out rubber ducks to everyone in Hawthorne, how many will he have left after everyone gets one?

Bwahaha, Melissa wants to get one for Imp, one with devil horns. Trixie on cleanup duty with the campus maintenance crew, serves her right after that prank. Ember and Miranda welcome Amy back, Achoo is interested in her baking them snacks, good grief. Melissa back in her dorm room notices a note on her bed, an invite to a secret meeting of select individuals, oh boy, Imp is going to get them good.

Domoviye
Saturday afternoon, Dec 15th, 2007

Pranking Phase, this will be interesting.

Neither Tink or Smile expected what came next. Phase gasped, looked at both of them in real terror, and then disappeared into the ground, leaving Tink hanging in mid-air, and Smile landing in the snow.

Trauma from the shoulder angel incident, Phase is one of several students who still need therapy for that. Or did he react to them like that for another reason?

They are going to prank ElectroCute, anybody got some popcorn? I need a snack to watch this one. Aww, she can't have catnip. She sees Tink and thinks she is Lilith, so excited she accidentally shocks Tink unconscious. Smile grabs Tink to flee and now knows not to startle ElectroCute.

Morpheus
Dickinson Cottage, Saturday afternoon, Dec 15th, 2007

Balderdash escorting Trixie down the cottage hallway who is acting like some sort of zombie. Traci Hoffman aka Starbright wants to know what happened to Trixie, Jenny Merrowitz aka Fairy Girl actually cares about Trixie. Generator pranked her bad and she has been shellshocked since, Jade!

Trixie finally blinked and looked up with a haunted expression on her face. “I have much to learn.”

And a note for Trixie as well, rounding up the worst pranksters on campus, I hope that includes Jade and Beltane.

Domoviye
Crystal Hall, Saturday late afternoon, Dec 15th, 2007

Jadis walking with Nacht to the Crystal Hall when Tink decides she is her next target. *facepalms* That is not what the Bad Seeds are, nor is that what witches are really like, Tink.

“Aren't you supposed to be helping Tink?” Nacht asked in a monotone, although there might have been a small gleam of humour in her eyes.

“Yeah, but when the ditzy fairy gets like this, it's funnier to just sit back and watch the insanity,” Smile said.

Nodding in understanding, the pair stood back and watched the show.

I swear, if someone set up popcorn stands around Whateley they would make a killing.

Domoviye
The Quad, Saturday late afternoon, Dec 15th, 2007

Jade is upset thinking Tink and Smile are doing shoulder angels which she got a month of detention for. Security is waiting for Tink and Smile at their cottages, oh boy. Listen to Phase, Jade, end the prank war you must.

Domoviye
Dickinson Cottage, Saturday evening, Dec 15th, 2007

Smile called to see Headmistress Carson, eep. Tink is being led along by Micheals who she is pleading with. Tink, trying to bargain at this point will just get you more detention. Smile has an old phobia of adults, good lord. Ms. Carson, I know you are angry, but please don't terrify Smile. Tink, when Mrs. Carson is in this foul of a mood you shut up!

Smile put her face in her hands. “Please just shut up before you get us expelled.”

Remember this next time Tink tries to talk you into anything, Smile.

30 minutes and most of her ire for Tink, good. Detention until the end of the term and most of January, not that bad considering. Smile got the easy job in Hawthorne, and Tink is even helping her out, one of these days Tink will think things through before she acts on an idea. And on that day Hell will freeze over. Ooo, Roulette's brownies, those make Hawthorne detention worth getting. Ouch, that last part.

Morpheus
Sunday afternoon, Dec 16th, 2007

Gwen has been invited to the meeting of the pranksters, oh boy. Gwen has reason to be wary. Gwen has learned some good tricks to keep herself safe while scouting. Mischief and Monkeywrench are already there. Bwahaha, that graffiti, most kids at Whateley wouldn't know that song.

A hidden symbol and passageway, did Imp have time to set all this up? Whose club room did this use to be? Jade, Beltane, Robert Rose, Jericho, and Razorback, as well as Stonebear, haven't seen Robert Rose in a long time. None of them know why they were invited there. Trixie and Bluejay show up, not even Bluejay knows why they are there.

Imp makes a grand entrance on stage.

“Now, you’re all obviously wondering why I invited you here,” the Imp announced.

“You can say that again,” Stonebear said.

The Imp grinned. “Now, you’re all obviously wondering why I invited you here.”

Never set up Imp for a joke like that. The most dedicated pranksters at Whateley, and yes, Gwen, setting up Jade and Beltane's prank war counts. I wondered who did that to Twain Hall, so it was Stonebear. Boy, he has some big pranks to his name and never got found out except by Imp.

“And there is one noticeable absence, simply because I didn’t trust the girl to remain quiet about this meeting or what we are about to discuss.”

A squeaky little voice from above protested, “Hey, I can keep a secret.”

I should have known Tink would sneak in with Gwen's pixies. Tink, never out what pranks you have pulled unless the other person reveals they already know. Someone just had to make a Mulan reference. Imp reveals to them how close they came to the worst possible scenario for pranksters on campus due to Trixie's glitter bomb taking things too far.

Robert Rose nodded. “I can see where Miss Imp is coming from. The recent pranks, while rather glorious, have been a bit…excessive in some regards and often lacking in style.”

A bit excessive, the giant cream pie and glitter bomb were beyond excessive. *facepalms* Monkeywrench!

“This was once the clubhouse of a campus club called the Jesters, who were all about standup comedy and the like. They went defunct a few years ago, and this place has been empty since. It seemed like an appropriate meeting spot.”

Huh, I wonder who got invited to the place.

The prank club with Imp as their unofficial faculty sponsor, I've heard of worse ideas.

“The first rule is part of that. This also means, no pranks that disrupt classes and school functions. Most teachers don’t have my sense of humor and won’t appreciate a good prank the way I do. If other teachers start complaining to Carson… Well, look at rule number two.”

In other words no revenge pranks while someone is in class or that will hit a lot of other people besides intended targets. Let's hope this works out and no more attention from Carson due to the pranks happening. Beltane as the leader of the club makes sense in a lot of ways.

It is a good idea, Imp, as long as others don't catch on and try to infiltrate the club to corrupt the rules for their own purposes. Ah, so this is what Imp meant by bell the cat. When these club members graduate, look out world.

Aww, Beltane, just admit you like the idea of running a club for fellow pranksters. Even if you are graduating at the end of the year you can still make your mark.

“I propose that we select a single target who we all work together on pranking,” Beltane announced. “Someone challenging. Someone interesting. And of course, following rule number two, someone who Mrs. Carson won’t care if we prank.”

A group project to prank Imp, this will be legendary.

Great story from start to finish. I never expected the prank war to end like it did, nor for how Beltane would turn it around on Imp. I can't wait to see what epic pranks they come up with to get Imp.

Broadsword vs. Geist combat final sure showed you can win without winning, Broadsword going for an assist instead of insisting on trying to win on his own shows he has the potential to be a hero.

Tink taking over the announcer's booth for the combat finals, I should have seen it coming, she is too hyper not to pull something like that. Her announcements were fun for the most part, although I think she needs to be sat down and talked to about getting into Mouser's hentai. That one combat final..*shudders*

Samson vs. Peccary was brutal to watch even knowing Samson has a manifested shell like that. And the comments and jokes by Tink and Mary, I'm surprised Carson didn't come storming in and drag them off by their ears.

The Prank Wars, the start of it by Beltane and Jade with the giant creme pie. Everyone knows you only prank your intended targets and try to avoid collateral, that was a failure as a true prank, that was just bombardment. The rest of the pranks that happened, I agree with Carson, it got way out of control, and the glitter bomb crossed a line that should never be crossed. One cardinal rule of pranking: Never use glitter in a prank!

Smile and Fairy Girl's combat final was a great one, great use of their powers, teamwork, and the environment to their advantage. I'm glad Smile is learning to be friends with Fairy Girl.

The one prank that should have thought of how it would make the target feel was Tink's one on Raptor. She may not have used her real egg, but making her think she did is just as traumatic. I hope Tink can learn the difference between a harmless prank and one that can scar someone emotionally or mentally.

Melissa's prank on Imp, now I'm left to wonder if Imp ever caught up to Melissa with the plaid paint.

Ribbon vs. Unstoppable, that big bruiser needs to learn there are others stronger and tougher than him, and that he can't win every fight. And to get his ego in check. Alyss once again proved why I admire her, even in the heat of battle she noticed the civilians in danger and changed tactics.

Miasma vs. Mina, now that was a good set-up to teach Miasma he can't always rely on his powers and gas to win. Mina's powers aren't much, but man I would love to have them to work in many hazardous jobs.

Tink vs. the anti-Tink squad, god, it was such fun to see her wrecking them and everyone underestimating her speed. But then when they got to the building...a reminder to never endanger children in TInk's presence unless you want to have a closed casket funeral. I know they needed to test her on this, but it was hard to watch that.

Wakanda vs. Gambler. Good lord, I never knew how dangerous a high-level probability warper could be. Messing with Wakanda's power, with the odds of everything, even screwing it up for herself at one point, I hate to imagine what would happen if a high-level Wiz trait and high-level probability warper faced off.

Porcelain vs. Gravmax. Good lord, we saw her fight against her brother and knew how powerful she was. But seeing her mess with Gravmax to the point her pees himself, I doubt anyone on campus will ever pick on her or think she is weak again. Her powers plus training make Porcelain one of the most dangerous students at Whateley right now.

Monkeywrench being framed for the banana peel prank in Twain, I can't believe it was Stonebear all along, that guy is the ultimate undercover prankster. And he is working with everyone in the Prank Club to prank Imp now, she has made her own worst pranking rivals.

Shaun vs. Thud, a battle of wits vs. brawn, and Shaun won. A B is still a good grade, better than the risk of being beaten up by Thud. Not after all the time he has already spent in Doyle.

Aegis vs. Iron. I was so happy to see all those lessons from Imp and Ito have paid off for Chris, that he has learned so much and taken their lessons to heart.

ElectroCute vs. Fetch and Mutt was the most adorable combat final ever. I just loved her playing with Mutt even if she she lost the combat final. Plus all the funny sayings from ElectroCute during it, just perfect.

Centurion vs. Roulette. I should have known she would have a burnout. But what she did before she had one, I knew her combination of powers, even just having access to one at a time, would give her access to devises and things, but I never expected the Coil gun to be that powerful, nor her mom to give her those singularity grenades. Nor did I expect Centurion to stay to protect her, he certainly is a lot more complicated than I previously thought due to his incidents with Gwen.

Interest vs. Laugh Riot. I see why they put her in that combat final, she is one of the few students who can survive against the rager who is suicidal. That was the third scariest combat final after Just Me's and Porcelain's.

Glass vs. OMAG. That kid needs to be taught not to grope and fondle females of any age without their consent, that is SA and he needs to realize this now. He better behave on their date or I doubt OMAG will be able to walk for a while after her friends get through with him.

Tink and Smile with their fun fairy, boring fairy bit was amusing. But Smile should have known that Carson doesn't care for semantics and would consider this the same as shoulder angels no matter what they said. They got off easy.

The meeting in the clubhouse, and the formation of the Prank Club with Imp as the faculty sponsor, had to happen otherwise pranks on campus would be banned and the fallout from that would ruin the headmistress's reputation once they have to deal with a prankster. I'm so glad it worked out for the best. Though I can't wait to see what the kids come up with to prank Imp, she brought this on herself.

I can't wait to read more in the future.