Featuring: Headmaster McNeil, Ethan Keller, Midnight, any student who wishes to attend
Where: Training room, Sub-Level B
When: July 19th, 6pm

---

Using one of the platforms that ran beneath the faculty apartments, Duncan changed into his Raven costume with the press of his ring against his chest, even as the platform he was on dropped suddenly and took him to the layer that they'd finally decided to open up for student usage, especially considering the growing number of students at the school. Once the platform finished descending, he walked through the metallic doors that slid open and moved through the hallways, not paying attention to the gentle flashing of the lit green arrows that would lead the students to them. He was certain that Ethan and Autumn would show, but it remained to be seen whether or not anyone else would.

Apart from a half-dozen steel topped tables, each long enough to accomodate three students easily, there were a number of obstacles set up in the large, classroom-style area, including ten or so training dummies ranging from just heads and torsos to full bodies, a thirty foot wall that ran right up to the ceiling, and a laser beam detection system set up in a narrow hallway that terminated in a locked security door at the end of it, the slight scent of ozone the only hint that the lasers were already active. ~Now,~ Duncan thought, ~we hurry up and wait.~

---

Summary: Just bring yourselves, all equipment will be provided on-site
Tags: Open

Somewhat surprised that he was the first other person in the room, Tobias was taken aback momentarily when he saw that the Raven, the real deal Raven, was actually standing right in front of him. Reaching up to the back of his neck and rubbing it nervously, the material of his glove somehow soothing to him, he reached to the small satchel that he had on his side that contained most of his sewing gear. "Oh, hello sir." His voice was very subdued and he wasn't sure why he felt so nervous, other than the fact that this guy was pretty much the real life equivalent of Batman. Pulling some woven fabric strips that were more than long enough to go around his waist, he set them down on one of the tables and said, "I know that it was said we'd have things supplied for us, but I didn't want to rely on the replicator doing real cloth instead of that fabric that comes out of the replicator, so I figured I'd bring a few belt choices of my own. Just, well, couldn't decide on the color."

---

Summary: His usual utility belt contains buttons, needles and thread
Tags: the frigging Raven!

Jordan arrived a bit after Linen, she had set the reminder on her phone but hadn't turned it off vibrate. She glanced around the room, grateful that she wasn't too late, "Hey." The new training she was doing with Autumn was inspiring her to take a more active role in other training. She wanted to improve in as many areas as she could, not just archery and poison production, she wanted to become a real hero. With the freedom league disbanded there was definitely a need for new heroes.

---

Summary: Another student arrives
Tags: Linen, Raven

Autumn strode down the hallway, appearing shortly after Jordan. She gave McNeil a nod, her pale eyes moving over his form carefully. He was out as the Raven now. She heartily approved. She held her helmet under one arm, otherwise dressed in the Midnight costume. Setting the helmet down, she started to check through her utility belt. Glancing over at Linen she said, "Your power will make having a belt easier. Smaller objects could be hidden completely in secret pouches only you can open, the color and texture can be changed to create a belt that will go with out of costume clothing. You never have to be unprepared again." She nodded toward Toxikon in greeting before bending down to readjust her boots. She moved with the lean lines of a jungle cat, ready to react at any instant. As Jordan had likely learned, Autumn was far more dangerous than a normal 14 year old girl.

---

Summary: Autumn arrives
Tags: Linen, Toxikon, McNeil

Checking the wristwatch communicator that he'd synced to one of his 'dump' cellphones, Duncan could see Ethan was running a little late, but given the fact that the class size was as small as it was, he couldn't see that being too much of a problem and told the man to take his time. "Midnight has an excellent point, Linen," Duncan said, his voice altered just a little by a microphone pickup in the costume's collar, as doing 'the voice' for the Raven was simply a bit too rough on his vocal chords anymore, "and seeing as there's only the two of you thus far, we'll be able to give you a lot more one-on-one interaction. I'd assume that more people will be coming down eventually, but we all know what that makes out of you and me, so let's get started."

He'd planned some notes on what to say, but being more of an off-the-cuff sort, Duncan figured he'd just improvise. "In an emergency situation, a utility belt can mean the difference between life and death, regardless as to whether you're, well, me, or whether you're Centurion reborn. Having the right tool for the job is indispensable when you're out in the field, and today, we're going to go over some of the basics that you want to keep in mind when you're using your belt." Opening the lid on a box that rested on the table in front of him, he continued. "Toxikon, I figure you're going to run a small on the empty ones I've got prepped already, and the color and exact look can be changed later on." Handing the belt to Autumn to give to the girl, there were about half a dozen small pouches on the front part of it, as well as a few loops, and the clasp had an adjustable fit.

"Now, the first thing that we're going to cover is how a utility belt can facilitate in the event that you need to escape a situation?" Looking at the two and knowing Autumn could do it, he added, "It's never ideal to have to, but a smart hero knows when to hold the line and when to get help, and sometimes, that requires running. What sort of things would help you get away from an enemy? We'll see how many answers you can brainstorm, and then we'll give you a couple of practical demonstrations so you can try them out."

---

Summary: Despite the small turnout, the belt lessons begin in earnest
Tags: Linen, Midnight, Toxikon

"Swinglines, smoke bombs, flash bangs," Vera said as she rounded the corner, having heard the beginning of the lesson. She grinned, the scar on her cheek turning up one side a bit higher than the other. "These are a few of my favorite things." She cheerfully put her hands in her pocket. "Sorry I'm late. I was...busy but I managed to tear myself away. I've been waiting for this class. I always wanted a good utility belt." Mostly for thieving, but she wasn't about to say that aloud. "Grappling hooks could be helpful, too, couldn't they?" She was excited and she was already in costume, hoping a belt would look good with it.

---

Summary: Vera shows up, finally
Tags: Headmaster, Midnight, Linen, Toxikon

"...And probably those foot spikey things that Ninjas use, tear gas, and a few issues of The Watchtower." Bodhi tossed in, a few feet behind Vera. While he had great confidence in the ubiquity and versatility of his meta-powers, he thought it might be a good idea to sit in on this lesson anyways, because he might not always be able to use his powers. Of they just might not be useful in a given situation. Plus, he did need somewhere to carry his diabetes supplies, and bulging pockets ruined the lines of a good super-suit.

He had just forgotten it until the last moment. Maybe if he'd learned to use the personal organizer on his cell phone, he might not have to worry about missing things that were important, but for the time being, that was low on his set of priorities.

---

Summary: Bodhi's late, but eager to learn.
Tags: Any

"Those are very good suggestions, but ashiko? Unless you're going to infiltrate somewhere that's got a wooden palisade or get thrown back to the Tokugawa shogunate, you're better off using hand-controlled electro-adhesive pads." The slit of a smile that appeared on Duncan/Raven's face was slightly disconcerting when one considered it came from a very muscular man dressed up like a gigantic black and dark blue bird. Reaching to his belt, he pulled out a compact grapple-swingline combination and twirled it into his hand. "Or better yet, pneumatically-fired, mechanically-assisted grapnel line with a five hundred pound test half-inch steel cable line and diamond-tipped tri-tine grapple."

Motioning to Linen and Toxikon, he said, "Midnight, why don't you take those two and for the moment, I'll take Deception and Starchild? When Archer shows, I'm sure he'll have more bow-related items that might be of better use to Jordan specifically, and others might still show up. Start with whatever you like, I'm going to work on swinglines first." Pulling out two more belts after he gauged their sizes with a look and handing them over to Bodhi and Vera, there were already grapple launchers attached at the hip, as well as several filled pouches. Motioning to the low walls, he said, "Let's try proper grapple line usage first on the low ones and then we'll scale to higher ones, including rappelling techniques."

Moving over to the walls while Autumn handled her own instructions, he patted on one and said, "The easiest way to evade an enemy is to get where they can't reach you. Now, a grapple line isn't going to work great against a flier, but in any other situation, it's a virtual lock on a way out. The trick to using one of these lines is not only not breaking your wrist when it starts to pull you up, but also making sure that if you've got to go horizontally, especially from a higher to lower position, that you're not going to tear one of your arms out of it's socket and fall to your death." Taking a wide-footed stance, he grabbed the pistol grip with his right hand first, then covered it with his left as if he were readying to fire an actual gun. "The first thing you do is make sure you're set, your lead foot the opposite of the hand you're gripping the gun with and the other behind you, and then put your dominant hand around the handle and trigger, then cover with your weaker hand. When you're ready, squeeze the trigger slowly and try to aim the grapple so that the tines will catch the surface you're aiming for, or an overhang that looks stable if you can't see any large object to fire the line around. As soon as you feel the cable-reel mechanism start pulling, try to push off of the ground with your feet so you're minimizing the strain on your arms.

Firing the grapple line, Duncan went up as if he'd practiced it in his sleep the night previous, effortlessly hooking the grapple and pulling himself up, vaulting onto the half-foot edge of the wall and balancing there as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do. "For starters, let's try just getting you up here, and then we'll worry about what you do afterwards."

---

Summary: Duncan divides the students into equal groups and starts with a reel interesting item
Tags: Belt novices, Midnight

Having heard of this training session Oliver jumped at the opportunity to maybe get a utility belt. He knew his ability wasn't showy nor did it provide a lot of options except to get hit and hope to not die. He had only eaten half his food when he realized he was late for the class. Skidding into only a couple walls as he made a mad dash to the room. He heard the last few words and talk of grappling hooks. Smiling he stopped at the door making sure his costume was in proper order, the blue tabard was cinched around the waist coming just above the knee with the rune of protection properly placed over his heart, the three pronged symbol had been his favorite for a while, and a mask that covered everything but his eyes all over a pair of black pants and black Vibrams.
"I hope I'm not too late for the training." He said as he entered the room. He saw all the gear and the setup his excitement grew as he saw the Raven. The actual Raven was here He tried to hide his awe at the man he knew was his headmaster but still the costume made all the difference.

---

Summary: Belay runs a little late.

Tags: Duncan, any

The hallways to the sub-basements were cold and intimidating. Kallisti walked quietly through the tunnels. She hadn't known if she should wear her costume (it was always such a hard decision), and so she wore a pair of ballet flats that made the softest of tapping noises to announce her presence, a flowing pastel sundress hugging her form. She entered the room behind the others (adjusting her mask slightly to ensure not a single bit of skin showed). Listening to the others, she felt out of place. Her world was made of fancy dresses, useless talents, and poetic speeches (world peace and an end of hunger!). The world of the ninja had no place there.

She had to wrap her mind around this new world. She had to think like a hero (or heroine, in her case). She smiled behind her mask and said, "I'm sorry I'm late. Which group would you like me to be a part of?" She had to learn these skills. With or without her mask, she was hopefully inept in the art of fighting. The Crash Courses and patrols had simply exemplified her inadequacies. She wanted to be better (as a heroine? as a teammate? as both?) This, perhaps, was a key to that.

---

Summary: Kallisti arrives a little late for lessons
Tags: Other students, Raven

Autumn took the two aside. Spotting the new students coming in, she motioned to Belay to call him over. "I'm going to show you smoke bombs," she said. She held out small capsules. "These are made to explode on the ground upon contact. The first question you must ask before using one, is what your goal is. There are two main goals of using a smoke bomb, disorientation and a possible escape. I personally use the disorientation to stage a counter attack."

She was walking toward the opposite end of the room from where Duncan was with the others. "You have to keep in mind what direction the wind is blowing in before you do anything. It would be downright embarrassing to throw down a smoke bomb and have it cloud your own vision. If you have any type of device to see through the smoke, then you're fine." She took the capsule and threw it a few feet away, instantly creating a screen of smoke. "As you can see, one of the smaller bombs creates an instant window of smoke. It's about four feet wide, and rises to six feet before it starts to dissipate. You'll of course have variations depending on the situation. My personal preference is to use more than one to create a thicker smoke, and to cover more of a range." She handed out the bouncy-ball sized capsules. "You want to throw them downward sharply toward whatever point you want the smoke screen center to be. The smoke itself does not last a long time." Even as she spoke, the smoke behind her was beginning to dissolve. "In the most ideal conditions, the highest level of concealment lasts only five seconds before dissipation. That's just enough time to get a head start, assuming they don't move after you." Her cool gaze landed on Toxikon, Linen, and Belay. "Tell me, how would you use them. Let's assume you enter a fight with... ten opponents versus you. All you have is your normal equipment and some smoke bombs."

---

Summary: Midnight talks about smoke bombs, of course
Tags: Belay, Toxikon, Linen

It was part classroom, part crazy equipment and Tobias wondered for a moment or two whether he'd done the right thing by coming instead of sitting in front of a Singer. Still, if he was naked and just had a utility belt, he would still need to do hero stuff. "I guess what I would do is hold my breath first, and then just throw it down at my feet. That way, while all of my enemies are having a hard time hitting me, I'd use some of the cloth from my costume to grab onto the highest thing above me and pull myself up, that way they'd all charge in and hit each other? Kind of like those cartoons where the clever protagonist slips out from a big whirling pile and the others beat themselves up?"

As soon as the words had come out of his mouth, he was ready to facepalm himself. 'Great job, Tobs. You just suggested to a stone cold vigilante who probably has never had fun in her life but has really gorgeous cheekbones that your idea to handle a real world situation came from Nicktoons.' Pursing his lips, he waited for Vera to say something that didn't make him look brain damaged.

---

Summary: Oy vey, Tobias is having a rough few weeks of things
Tags: Deception, Midnight, anyone else who might be laughing at him

Jordan's first thought was of running and she said as much, "One against ten odds seems a bit steep, I'd probably use it to get that head start you mentioned. But, assuming I can't run for some reason or I need to stay and fight..." she bit her lower lip in concentration, "I guess I'd throw down a couple and run to a side, so I wasn't where they expected me to be, then attack from that new position. Maybe repeat that a few times if possible." She had no idea if that kind of tactic would work at all, but that's why she was here, to learn how to use stuff like this effectively. It made sense to her, at least, as much as Tobias' idea. She watched Autumn, wondered what the girl thought of her idea and hoped she didn't sound too foolish. Like many at the school, she was slightly afraid of her; but she also wanted her approval, something that seemed hard to earn.

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Summary: 10 to 1, thanks I'll talk the train out of town instead
Tags: Autumn, Linen, Belay

Belay had thought Linens idea was awesome! He like the idea of having them fight themselves. "I would use them as a distraction to slow as many as I could down" he said as he looked at the small bomb. "I would then attempt to get away and find a better position to counter their attacks." He had never been up against ten opponents before and wouldn't want to be overrun. What would he do though and why was he being faced by ten guys. "Why am I facing these people? Do I need to get past them or are they just chasing me? Am I surrounded or are they coming from one side?"

---

Summary: Belay has a few questions

Tag: Autumn, Linen, Toxicon

"You can snap your wrist with this?" Vera asked. Her eyes widened and she said, "Oh my god, that's so cool. I have a question, though. What happens if you accidentally shoot someone with it? I'm guessing it's a kersplat moment, rather than a neat little winding around them like in the comics and tv shows?" She stepped forward and mimicked Duncan as she aimed toward the platform. Bracing herself and hoping she didn't make the bones in her wrist go where they shouldn't, she aimed and fired, prepared for the lifting upward.

---

Summary: Vera is ready to go
Tags: Anyone

Bodhi took the belt and strapped it around his waist, feeling a little weird about it and about the fact that he was going to be doing the modern-day version of the Batman and Robin wall-climb thing. "Oh boy, flashback to freshman year and the rope in gym class." He said, glancing at Deception briefly, and then back up at Raven. He took the grapple gun in hand, and practiced the motions Duncan demonstrated a few times, including the hand placement, stance and push-off with his legs, but kept his finger off the trigger. "At least nobody's looking up my gym trunks here."

He waited until Deception fired her line off, and then followed suit, aiming so that they wouldn't be getting their lines crossed. Last thing they needed was a mid-hoist collision.

---

Summary: Don't we all have flashbacks to climbing the rope in Gym class?
Tags: Any.

Watching as Vera, and then Bodhi, fired off their lines, both of them being pulled into the air by the automatic reel as it started up, Duncan allowed himself a chuckle. The pull could be a little much, but both had ended up right at the top to where they could clamber up to the top. "Excellent, excellent work, both of you." Motioning to Kallisti without even turning his head, he moved to find himself another grappling line so the masked girl would be able to use it. "As for mishaps, there was a hero called Tiger Beetle in the early seventies that had a rather disturbing incident with a mis-aimed shot that ricocheted off of the corner of a concrete wall and hit him in the stomach. Other than needing to empty his colostomy bag periodically on patrols, he enjoyed a long and fruitful career until a block of masonry fell on his head."

Pointing to the relatively flat end of the grapple's head and the forked tines that came out when it had landed from it's shot, he said, "Thus, the reason we keep them flat until they open up at the end of their trajectory. I will admit, I broke King Cole's kneecap with the first one of these I had, but in my defense, he was trying to stomp on my fingers when I was hanging off of a three story ledge. Of course, that was the type of villain who wouldn't have done it had I have been further up and not over a very sturdy awning. The days of principled villains, unfortunately, appear to be long since passed."

Once they were up, he said, "Now, time to rappel while Kallisti here gets ready for her first jaunt up the wall." Giving her quick, concise instructions on how to get up with the grapple line, he then looked to the others and said, "I want both of you to turn so your backs are facing me and press down lightly on the reel reversal button as you push out with your feet and then pull forwards, using your non-dominant hands on the little bar that sticks out a bit so you can maintain your grip. Each time you push off, let it out a little more. If you fall, don't worry, the pads underneath of you have shock-absorbing gel in them so you shouldn't break anything. Just try not to land on your heads."

---

Summary: A couple of foreboding stories told with a frighteningly straight face by the Headmaster, Kallisti goes up as the others get to go back down
Tags: Bodhi, Vera, Arianna

Midnight listened to each response. "Good questions," she told Belay. "Would your answer change depending on the reason?" She dialed on her keypad given by the Headmaster to call in robots.
"Belay, what counter attacks do you plan on doing? You only have defensive powers, as far as I'm aware. Or do you plan on getting a weapon? We will test your accuracy and agility over here." She nodded her head in the direction of a smaller faux alleyway.

She turned to Tobias. "Throwing it at your feet can be a good or bad thing. Good in that it provides almost instant coverage, bad in that it provides a general target for where you are. By lifting out of it, you would certainly change the first part. Genre-savvy opponents will be looking for your exit, however. Against zoomers, or other speedsters, especially ones that travel in a group, it could work well, granted you have good aim. Let's try it." She tilted her head toward a different portion of the room, "I want you to stand beneath the bars up there, throw down a smokebomb, and see just what it's like to pull yourself upward."

She turned to Jordan, "You would zigzag in retreat? Did you consider throwing them in a straight line pattern, to give you more time to shield yourself?" She turned and snapped her wrist three times in quick succession to create a thick wall. "This would give you time to locate a fall back position. I would recommend one of two positions, up high, such as on a dumpster or, hopefully, a fire escape, or down low." She dropped into a kneeling position, raising her arms as if she held a bow. "Aim for where you believe they'll be exiting and make certain you have cover. They won't expect you to be down low. A warning about fire escapes, they do make a racket if not already pulled down. A good move is to yank one down, then go low behind a dumpster. It gives you a moment of hesitation from your opponent when they believe they know where you are. Why don't we try your dodging? You can find what works best for you?" She nodded to a series of platforms and blocks in the training room that were roughly the size of an alleyway.

Robots zoomed in, as she handed out more smoke bombs, the machines human sized and boxy ones balanced on one wheel. She sent three of each for each student. "We'll start with a smaller number. They should react as the average miscreant of average intelligence would. We start in 3, 2, 1, Go." With that, she rested on her heels and waited to see what happened.

---

Summary: Some ideas and hands on training
Tags: Belay, Linen, Toxikon

His breath was quickening a whole lot and when he positioned himself beneath the bars, he thought about what it was that she'd said and when it was time to go, he tossed the smoke bomb a few feet in front of him. Sending a couple of tendrils flying upwards, his brain pulled back with them like they were a muscle to yank him upwards. If he succeeded, or even if he didn't he would use the other sleeve portions of his outfit to make a long and sharp blade around his hand so he could whip it at them as they came. Knowing Autumn, these robots weren't going to go easy and since they wouldn't bleed he didn't feel bad about cutting the living daylights out of them.

---

Summary: Tension for Linen as they get going
Tags: Belay, Toxikon and Midnight

Jordan nodded at Midnight's ideas, she hadn't thought about shooting from the ground and wondered what that would do to her aim. It was something she would try and work to perfect, if it was hard then it was probably worth it. When the robots approached she tried to throw a few smoke bombs like Autumn had shown, then darted backward and to the left. She used a small platform to climb onto a taller one and had an arrow ready to fly where she thought one of the robots would emerge.

---

Summary: Jordan starts by going high
Tags: Midnight, Robots

"That was so fuh-reaking cool," Vera said, correcting herself at the last minute. She laughed happily, holding on for dear life. It was a far more difficult task than she'd anticipated. Still, thoughts of just how much more she could steal and the places she could go with one of these were dancing through her head. She pressed the button and did the bouncing thing like instructed, turning to Bodhi to say, "Isn't this the sweetest thing ever? I think if all my classes were like this, I'd be getting straight As." She kept going, calling down, "Come on Kallisti, you can do it. It's so much easier than it looks." If she fell, she would just disappear and reappear at the bottom. She wouldn't even feel bad, everyone had a hard time in their first lesson. Hell, the first time she'd picked a lock it had taken her about half an hour, and she'd almost been nabbed by an beat cop. How embarrassing would that have been?

---

Summary: Vera is having a blast
Tags: Starchild, Kallisti

Not only did Rudy feel like a total tool for being late to such an awesome class, but he felt kind of weird to boot. He'd been talking to a girl that he knew from back home on Facebook who had kind of seemed interested in him and he didn't know how to feel about that. She'd said that he definitely looked like he was growing up since he'd gotten taller and more in shape since he went to Claremont, and then proceeded to tell him how she'd always had a crush on him but never had the courage to say it. Nothing made him want to leave Claremont, the school was just way too boss, but now he felt unsettled. Since Daisy had made out with Adam, even if it was something he'd forgiven her for because she was just too damn nice not to, he'd been in a rut. He hadn't even been working on comics much and he wasn't sure what to do. He felt lonely and weird and didn't know who to talk to about it. Daisy? That'd be weird, and Nadia had her own things going on with college starting up for her and Curcio and everything else.

Getting into costume on the way, he had a notebook tucked underneath of one of his arms and stood as he watched smoke bombs going off and Vera and Bodhi on climbing walls, and when he saw the Headmaster, he still couldn't help but get a poundy feeling in his chest. He already knew that Headmaster McNeil was the Raven, he'd found that out a little bit ago, but Headmaster McNeil was the goddamn Raven! It was still a painful toss-up for him whether or not to have the guy sign some of his comics, or to ask burning questions about what really happened in his fights with the Luna Moth or Lenore or the Conqueror Worm or Alistair Usher or Dr. Sin or Blackbird or King Cole or August Roman or Al Araaf and the Spirits of the Dead conspiracy. "Uh, sorry I'm late sir," was what he managed instead, "I forgot." Smooth, Rudy, smooth.

---

Summary: Toon's going through ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Tags: Belt people, smoke bomb people, Midnight and Raven

Clumsily rappelling his way downward, Bodhi was so shocked by Vera's question that he slipped and went shoulder-first into the wall. "Ooof! It'd be cooler if half my brain wasn't going all Woody Allen and chattering about how it's not falling that bothers it, but the sudden stop at the end." He said, correcting himself and resuming his downward rappelling. "But at least I'm not doing it in orange and green tights." Okay, Teen Titans and Young Justice had legitimized poor Robin as a complete badass, but still. Orange and Green? It made him look like he was Florida's official fictional superhero.

---

Summary: Bodhi might not have any taste in clothes, but he wouldn't go out looking like that.
Tags: Any.

"Haven't thought that far in advance" He answered her as he saw the robots he got a little nervous. "Guess I have to make it through?" He asked as he sized up the robots. He knew a few throws and maybe could slip by them if they mobbed him but he had little practice with weapons. His mother had wanted him to be able to defend himself at a moments notice and not have to rely on something other than his hands. Maybe he would have to find a weapon that suited him.
Taking a few smoke bombs he threw them in a line to cut himself off from the Robots as he took off towards the end of the alley, Watching for a robot he would throw the bomb at its base or even its chest in hopes to blind it. If any got in his way he would either try to trip it up or throw it to confound the others as well. He would try to take a few hits and see if he could figure out how to direct his sheilds.

---

Summary: Belay will do the best he can

Tags: Autumn, Any