The Adjudicator's Institute for Heroics

Astrid grinned alongside Sage, though their's was far more smug. "It seems I have a secret power of bringing people together," she braged, leaning back into their chair. "It's moreso a talent, really."

"Oh! We saw her!" Dawn said, doing her best to ignore the comments. Still, it was clear from her trembling hands just how nervous she was. "Yeah, um, when we were at the library. She was there."

"Weird kid, right?" Astrid asked, pushing themselves up.

"Um... I guess so?" Dawn replied.

Astrid clicked their tounge. "Yep. I knew it. Like, who has the name Winifred and isn't weird? Answer: nobody."

"It is a very rare phenomenon," Evan agreed, nodding. "I knew a Winifred once. She bullied me."
"...Moving Evan's emotional baggage to the side," Sage looked up at Avery and Dawn. "You said you saw her in the library? Did she follow you?"

For a moment, Astrid did look concerned about Evan. They were bestest friends after all... well, perhaps it was a topic saved for later.

Dawn brought her gaze to Avery, "You did say you heard something, right? I didn't see anything behind us, but maybe it was her. We were a bit, um, distracted, when we were leaving. It's not impossible. I just hope nothing like that can fit under the door..."

"Ooh. Good point," Sage eyed the gap between the door and the floor warily. She waved her hand, and a grove of thick vines wound their way up the door, sealing it off completely. "There. Now nobody can get in."
"Or out," Evan observed, giving her a look. "You sealed up the entire doorway!"
Avery sighed. "I'll make a hatchet..."
"Sorry," Sage murmured. "I got a little carried away. But at least none of the Adjudicator's goons can break in while we're sleeping, right?"
"Astrid still needs to get back to her dorm," Evan pointed out, gesturing to them.
"Oh. Right. Um..."
"Don't worry," Avery pulled a sharp hatchet from her canister. "I'll take care of it."

Astrid simply waved them off. "Nah, it's fine, dudes. I can just jump out the window!" they said, completely serious as they gestured towards it.

Dawn stared at Astrid. "Or I could just make a ladder for you to climb down?"

Astrid stared back. For a moment, it looked as if a bit of pink embarrasment went onto her face. Just a moment. "Yeah, I was gonna say that. You just cut me off before I could. That's all."

Dawn shrugged. The ways of their newest member were alien to her, and she didn't understand it in the slightest. She moved onto Evan easily. "There is one more thing we should worry about, regarding Winifred," she said, "Powder's last name was also Copperton. Though, I kinda doubt we needed that info since they almost look like replicas of each other. Still, we know Izzy and Powder are definitely with my mother, so him having a powerful little sister isn't great for us."

Astrid's proposal to leave via window made Evan laugh. It had been a long time since he'd laughed, and the motion even surprised him.
"Oh, I'm sure you were gonna say ladder next," he told Astrid, chucking. "That's the logical next step, right? Jump first, ladder later?"
His laughter was cut short when Dawn mentioned Winifred.
"Oh, yeah..." he pushed the smile off his face, regaining that signature grumpy emo look that he always wore. "Well, Sage walled up the door, so maybe we don't have to worry about that?"
He gestured to the doorway, where Avery was hacking away at the vines. She was careful to only remove the ones holding the door in place, keeping a thick grouping of stumps at the very bottom, blocking the gap.
"She can still track us when we go to class," Sage pointed out. "If we go to class. I, for one, don't want to, but it might arouse some suspicion if we never show up..."

Dawn sat down on one of the bunks, cautious of Astrid's enegertic kicking feet. "Yeah... We could get expelled if we don't show up to classes," she said. "That said, anybody can track us when we go to class. Anyone could track us now! All they have to do is find our schedules. And if they're with the Adjudicator... that's pretty easy to get."
Well, so much for optimism. They were trapped with no way out, they could be expelled, mind-controlled, or have powers stolen from them at any time, and someone could be watching their every move. It felt as if there was nothing stacked in their favor.

Astrid eventually brought their feet onto the chair, still spinning constantly. She tried thinking about it for more than second, before her brain completely fried. "I dunno... I think we just need to find some sorta evidence Ms. Adjudicator's being a horrible person and we could, like, leak it to the public. There are a bunch of computers in the library, so we can post it somewhere. At least for the school to know."

"That's a good idea!" Sage clicked her chain as she sat there, thinking. "But how to accomplish it..."
"We could film her doing something evil," Evan offered. "If we could find a camera, I can follow Izzy and Powder the next time they go to meet her and take a video of her explaining some of her plans to them. Then, I can sneak back out and upload the video to the computers."
"That could work--" Sage began.
"But it sounds extremely dangerous," Avery cut her off. She set the hatchet on the dresser, coming to stand in front of Evan. "There's no way I'm letting my little brother into that hellhole alone."
"I'll be fine," Evan insisted, waving his hand dismissively. "They won't see me!"
"No, but they might hear you," Avery pointed out. "Or feel you behind them. There's so many things that could go wrong! And if you mess up, you get your powers taken away. I don't want to see you lobotomized like Sam."
"Look, I'm the only person for the job," Evan stood up, staring at his sister in determination. "None of the rest of you can go unnoticed like I can. And besides, what have we got to lose? We're already trapped here. At least if I get caught I'll get to leave this place."
"Shhh!" Sage hissed. "They could be listening to us right now!"
"If they are, we're already screwed," Evan turned back to Avery. "Just let me try it! It's our last chance."
"No," she replied stubbornly. "There's gotta be a better way than this. Right, Dawn?"

It was certainly comedic how tiny Dawn looked amomg them, especially considering thar Astrid was far shorter. She looked at Avery, then Evan. Then down at the floor. She rubbed her cheek shyly, her fingers running over the smooth lavendar band-aid.

"Why don't we both go?" she said, her voice just barely reaching over a whisper. "Evan could record it, and I'll try to dig the information out. She'll be more open with me. She still thinks I'm on her side."

In truth, she was terrifed of facing her mother again. The slap across her face still felt fresh. What if they did get caught? Would her mother be so cruel as to tear her powers from her? Would Darcy really be complacent if the Adjudicator hurt her even more? What if they saw that Evan was there, too? She doubted how much she could persuade her mother. Thoughts as such ran rampent in her head.

"I... I agree with Avery, though. If you don't let me come along, then, um, you're not going." Astrid had to surpress a laugh from how pathetic Dawn's attempt at being assertive was. "We should at least be a pair. We could even have Astrid as lookout! Just... not alone."

Evan crossed his arms. "Fine. The three of us, then."
A small part of him felt relieved. In reality, he'd been terrified of going alone. But being stuck in this school forever was an even more daunting fate. He looked down, scuffing his shoe against the floor.
"Do we go now, or later?"

Astrid shrugged. "I've got nothing to lose. We can go whenever."

Dawn had the same answer, though it came out closer to a mumble. She had a lot to lose, actually. "If we're using the computers in the library, we're gonna have to be discreet about it, though. We need to make sure we have one, too. Maybe Sage and Avery can go hog one until we get there? We'll try to aim for under twenty minutes. Hopefully nobody notices anything by then. Oh, we'll need something to record with, too. So, um, does anyone have anything to use? A photo probably won't be enough."

"I used to make new camera pieces for my mom when I was younger," Avery picked up her canister, pulling out some of the glowing purple wax inside. "She liked to take high-quality photos of her artwork to post online. I think...I think I can make a video camera, if I concentrate."

Dawn grinned. "Okay," she sighed. "Okay!" she repeated, "Once that's done, we'll go and I'll sweet-talk my mom. And if not... then maybe she'll hit me again. That'll make people distrust her, too. I hope, at least."

Astrid looked completely hyped up. "We're like secret super spies! Oh! And I'll set up some water around the corners so I'll have all bases covered! Oh, this is gonna be so good!" They grabbed Evan's arm and began bouncing up and down, "We're gonna bring this lady down! Can't wait for everyone to start, like, throwing tomatos at her door and spraying painting and anarchy and chaos!"

It might've been Astrid shaking him so hard, but Evan had a bad feeling in his stomach. What if this went wrong? So many variables...something was bound to happen, right?
He looked around the room. Astrid, Sage, Avery, Dawn...if they got caught, would all of them get their powers taken away? Would they become dull and lifeless, like Sam?
Evan swallowed, trying to push away the awful feeling. Evan Jones, always the pessimist...it can't go THAT horribly, can it? We'll make it out okay...right?
Across the room, Avery had closed her eyes. Her fingers moved like branches in the wind, molding the Daya into a gradually more-defined camera. It was a bit large, with a long nozzle on the front to hold the lens. It was for photography--the main thing their mother had wanted, to properly capture the beauty of her paintings. But she always dropped them, or lost them(somehow), and Avery had to keep re-making the old ones. But now that skill had finally come in handy.
"Done!" she exclaimed, holding up the finished product.

Dawn examined the camera thoroughly. "Oh, wow. This is amazing! And it fully works, too?" Dawn had always been fascinated with the how and why things qorked, especially powers. It was so interesting! She was giddy once it was handed to her and she got to inspect every piece.

"Well... I don't know what's stopping us now," Astrid said once they let go of Evan. "I guess I can go put up some water now? Keep an eye on all corners abd stuff. And don't worry, I'll watch out for Woody and Buzz," they said. Just a few seconds after, they went to the door. "See ya on the other side!" She said, then left.

Dawn waved goodbye despite the fact they'd be meeting up soon. "Well... Evan? You ready?" she asked. Dawn wasn't ready at all, that slap was still too fresh, but she didn't want to hold anyone back. She looked at Sage. "You and Avery can go hog us a computer. While you're there, it might be a good idea to look up anything you can about the Adjudicator. Any scandels, rumors, anything will help us."

Finally, she looked at Avery. Her fingers still roamed over the video camera before it was handed off to Evan. "Um..." What do you say to the person who like-likes you and you like-like back and who you might never see again if this all fails terribly? "See ya later, alligator?"
What are you thinking, Dawn?!