Issue 1 Downtime

After arriving at the school without much fanfare, and getting ensconced in her room, Mercy found herself without much to do and without anyone she knew.

So naturally it was time for a smoke break. Mercy is dressed in all black naturally, long skirt, halter top for her wings, with a shawl over her shoulders. Lots of black makeup, lots of clunky silver jewelry. She's leaning up against the outside of the building by some nice bushes, smoking a glove cigarette and watching the world go by.

A soft, childlike voice echoes in the air.

"....Red rover....red rover....send Jenny right over."

Victoria, meanwhile, was fishing in her pockets, then scowling as she didn't find something. Seeing Mercy, she opened her silver cigarette case as she walked over, pulling a hand-rolled cigarette out of it. "Have a light?" she asked.

Mercy looks up and frowns. "Oh good, the local teeps have already found me."

She casts a quick glance around, but knowing that there are any number of ways that a mutant power could hide someone within voice-range, she doesn't bother about it too much.

Turning to Victoria, whom she can actually see, she smiles. "Sure." Mercy produces a silver cased zippo lighter, lights Victoria's cigarette. "Mercy."

Victoria takes a pull from the cigarette, which has a vaguely herbal, incensey smell that is vaguely intriguing, letting it out in a slow cloud of blue-tinted smoke. SHe held the cigarette up in a smoker's salute as she relaxed, having made her morning tribute to the goddess now. "Victoria."

"Witch...witch....what do you eat? Little black apples from Hurricane Street........"

"Of course not. Do you know how hard those are to get here?"

"Nice to meet you. I'd say that I just got here today but I'm sure this place is small enough that everyone already knows the color of the car I arrived in."

She takes a drag on her own cig, which while not being quite as impressive as Victoria's still has a sharp, herbal smell to it. She also frowns at the chant but doesn't dignify it with a response.

"England seems nice so far, I guess."

Kay comes out the door and, now that she has some distance between herself and Haley, is snickering again.

"Take the key and lock her up.....lock her up.....lock her up...."

Then Regan lets out a sudden, piercing scream.

Alex walked out behind Kay, glancing irritatedly back over his shoulder. "Little pint-sized bitch..."

Mercy winces. "So... this happen often?"

"Mmm, depends on how bored some people are." Idly, Victoria looked around, trying to spot where Regan was lurking, then smiled when her eyes settled on Kay. "Well, someone's having a good morning..."

"Oh just admiring some artwork." she chuckles.

Regan could be spotted sitting in an open window above.

"Grab her head and bash it in....bash it in....bash it in...."

"Grab her head and bash it in....my fair lady...."

Mercy does a limp wave to the newcomers, holds out her pack of cloves to offer one.

Kay just shakes her head, then spots Regan up in the window and grins at her.

"I don't smoke." she says, looking back down at Mercy.

"Soooo... artwork?" Victoria asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Mercy nods at Kay. "I'm Mercy. Hi."

"I'm Kay. And yeah. Someone painted a naked portrait of Haley on the inside of her door. Not sure what happened but I think she blasted it out into the hall for everyone to see." she laughs.

"Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross....To see a fine lady upon a white horse....Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes...And she shall have music wherever she goes."

Now, Regan was just fucking around apparently.

"Bonus five points for improvisation, minus a thousand for the use of 'Cock Horse'."

Victoria glanced between Kay and Regan for a moment, then sighed. "Goddess, it's too early to be doing this. I suppose I get to be the one to preserve peace in the school..." she said, shaking her head as she took one last hit from the cigarette, flicking it aside as she headed into the building.

"Uh oh. Now teacher's pissed." Mercy smirks and takes a drag on her cig.

"Ha. The day I'm officially responsible for you lot is the day I put a shotgun in my mouth," Victoria said with a smirk as she headed in.

Haley stormed outside and found another group assembled, and her eyes narrowed as she spotted Regan.

"You're fucking *hilarious,* Regan. Fuck you. Next time I'll smash harder with my TK."

Cal followed her out, hurrying over. "Easy, babe," he whispered, glaring up at Regan.

Regan floated around idly, continuing to respond in verse.

"An angry young husband called Bicket, said: "Turn yourself round and I’ll kick it. You have painted my wife in the nude to the life! Do you think, Ms. Greene, it was cricket?" Regan said.

"So... this is a thing I guess."

Mercy looks sympathetically at Haley. "Sorry about your... dirty limricking poltergeist? I could try to blast it with Darkforce or something. No idea what would happen. Don't want to you know... intrude if blasting ghosts isn't something we do around here."

"I dunno, I'm fine with it," Cal said, glaring at the ghost.

Regan lands, "I'm just trying to be friends, Haley."

"I put a lot of effort into that painting. Didn't you like it?"

There is not an ounce of sincerity in her voice. Just the usual deadpan.

"Come near me, or my room ever again, and I'll fucking finish what I started in detention," she growled.

"..."

"...Was it the unicorn? Have you outgrown them already?"

"Oh god damn it," Cal growled... taking a step away from Haley to throw a lightning bolt at Regan... though from the snap of thunder that followed, everyone but Mercy knew he could do stronger than that.

"Oh shit!" Mercy's wings close reflexively around her, shimmers of... dark something burst out of her wings like dust motes, hanging in the air and forming a little haze of bizarre eldrich energy around Mercy.

She pulls her wings open enough to peek out.

And Regan was gone in a flash of lightning. Replaced by a swirling cloud of blue-grey mist which swirled in the air briefly before reforming as Regan.

"...Have any of you people considered anger management classes?" Regan asks, wincing a bit.

The blast of lightning kept Haley from lashing out herself.

"Have you considered not being a bitch? Ever? At any point in your life?"

"Wait the ghost is like a regular?"

She shakes her head. "Also, you have some ovaries talking about anger management, ghostie. Might want to brush up on those interpersonal skills."

"You kidding? After all shit you did to her and said about me? This is fucking therapeutic for me," Cal growled back at Regan, before glancing at Mercy. "Yeah, a regular. Unfortunately."

"You two are total psychos."