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Ripley woke to the sound of a text. He stretched out, over his bed partner, as this was one of the nights he actually stayed the whole night, to pat around for his glasses and then his phone. It took him a moment to read the text in his sleepy state, and it certainly didn't help that Finn had started moving, too. He couldn't blame the other man though, since hands and elbows in your torso were never a fun thing to wake up to.

"Get up." He urged the other man, now crawling over him to get his feet on the floor. "We've got that meeting to go to." Finn had been briefed on the impending mission, it had only been a waiting game for when it would start.

+++

Now showered and dressed, Ripley made his way to the Library as directed. Finn was in tow, as he supposed the other man was a competent Hunter, and he had already expressed his interest in going because, well, Finn was always there to oppose him as often as possible.

"I still think this is a terrible idea." He informed Lex quietly upon arrival, just to make his stance on this very, very clear.

When Oliver arrived, it was with a tired and somewhat surprised smile. Lex hadn't given him many details on what the mission was going to be exactly, the gullible teen had just been agreeable in his usual trusting manner when he was contacted. Seeing Ripley and Finn there was reassuring.

"H-hi guys," he said quietly, and somewhat timidly as he glanced towards the tall, unfamiliar woman who was also in attendance.

Finn was actually probably more likely there to make sure Ripley didn't get himself nearly killed again (wishful thinking he was sure).

....But also to oppose him because that was always kind of fun as well.

He arrived with Ripley, freshly scrubbed and changed and ready to go, though he was actually still a bit foggy on the details of what this mission entailed. He could admit, only to himself of course, that he hadn't actually been listening all that closely when it had been explained to him.

So of course, when Ripley said it was a bad idea, Finn had to pipe up with. "Aw, come on Ripples! I bet it will be a barrel of fun~" With a light jab to the other mans side with his elbow.

Others arrived, and they were, he noted, all familiar faces at least, some more welcome than others (coughClaudecough), though he gave her a nod and a smirk in return "Sweet Transvestite." Was his greeting, because that was absolutely what he was going to be calling her from now on.

Chance and Oliver were both given smiles, though they were of course of the cold variety (couldn't be helped really). "Man, you're all a ******** positive bunch aren't you?" Was his response to all of their combined negativity. "Why the ******** did you even come if it was such a bad idea?"

------------------

Lydia stumbled in, a tote bag slung over her shoulder, glasses askew, and hair a mess.

"OLIVER!" She greeted the young man loudly, hurrying over to stand with him as she bounced on the heels of her feet. "Oh my goodness I'm so glad you're here too this is going to be so much fun!" She hissed the last in a loud whisper and then tittered out a wild giggle.

Jack arrived with his own mug of coffee and proceeded to sit down without further ado. He had the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes, but those eyes were as sharp as usual as he regarded each member of this apparent mission, individually, through his shiny new sunglasses.

"Jamil," he greeted first, taking a sip. "Finn, Crowell, Bones." A slight raise of the mug, his manner of camaraderie. "Miss Stiles. Pirate." He wondered exactly what Lex had in mind to be inviting this odd assortment.

"Princess." Oliver was given a hint of a smirk. Finn had never told him about this particular nickname; Jack had happened to catch a few tweets that mentioned it.

Lex had invited a few of the people he would have thought to bring along, though Jack would want to hear exactly what sort of mission this was before deciding anyway; this cut the process down considerably. "So, what are we looking at, Jamil? Or is this how you intend to begin your psych evals: pretending you need bodies for a mission and then locking us in until we spill our deepest and darkest secrets?"

If there was any reaction about meeting Stormy here, it didn't show through the sunglasses.

---

"Heeeere!" came the voice of the aforementioned Mist, grinning widely at her dramatic timing. In tow was Gale, who had been awakened with something confusing yet appropriate like time to go to school, Galestorm, we can't play hooky!, which was a complete contrast to Stormy's usually "sleep until it's close to noon" habits but was thoroughly enthused nevertheless. It had been a while since she had gone on a mission--well, one that was different than the usual patrols at least--and she intended to make the most of it, especially since it was helping her hot dad her friend.

Beaming at those gathered (as it was good to put on a good face, even if said face was for people like Jack and Finn, though it did falter slightly), Stormy proceeded to offer Lex a hug upon greeting, spied the assorted breakfast foods, and immediately dove for a scone with glee.

(It might have also been an excuse to slightly hide behind both her boyfriend and the tall Lifer, as she had yet to sort out how she felt about a not dead Jack.)

More and more familiar faces gathered, Oliver was relieved to notice that most of the people in attendance were people he was on good terms with. And those he didn't know seemed to be held in (some sort of) high(ish) regard by the hunters he considered friends. So when Chance gave him an amused look, the boy promptly ran his fingers through his sleep-tousled hair as though it was his appearance that were the problem.

Before he knew it Lydia had joined the group. "Good morning," he said with a sleepy smile, in a voice that was a remarkably calm contrast to her bouncy enthusiasm. Usually a shout in his direction like that would have put the nervous kid on edge, if not had him leaping across the room fearing for his life, but somehow... Lydia he was used to.

Oliver was eyeing the cookies on the table when Jack came in. Hearing that nickname from Finn was one thing, but being addressed that way from Jack made him flinch. He much preferred the highly impersonal 'Keeley' that had sufficed in the past, with those sunglasses it was impossible to tell how much of this spreading nickname was humour and how much was derision.

"W-what are we doing a-anyway?" He piped up timidly, avoiding eye contact while dealing with the nickname discomfort.

Stormy's offered hug was accepted with a quick one-armed affair, Lex trying to keep things professional and not offend Gale, though the Lifer doubted the young man was the type to get incredibly jealous over small things like that. "Hi." He responded, turning his attentions to...

Hawthorn. He liked the man, but had to chuckle at the ridiculous sunglasses he was wearing. "Hawthorn, the 90's are over. People don't wear sunglasses inside any more, unless they're south of the Mason-Dixon Line in a Walmart." Lex crowed, curled lips easing into a gentler face. "Alas, that would be a good idea- however I've not the clearance for that sort of experiment. The variety pack we have in this group would create a wonderful, if not chaotic, situation. Perhaps a sequel to 'The Breakfast Club?'" Lex finished with Jack, sipped more coffee, then turned to face everyone. He supposed they'd been waiting long enough - and now that everyone was hopefully here, he could begin.

The man cleared his throat and walked around his armchair, leaning over it slightly and resting his hands on the back rest. "As some of you may know, we have been receiving multiple cases of strange activities around highschools, globally. Some Hunters-" A cool glance toward Ripley, a smirk playing on Lex's face - "Have reported back with information that they ran into FEAR candies distributed across the student population." Lex let the statement hang, allowing the crowd to absorb the small bite of information, should they not have already been aware. Lex began again, an easy lilt to his voice as though he were discussing dinner plans. "What I want to know is the why of the situation. Why would anyone be interested in high school children? What could they gain from giving pubescent humans doses of FEAR? Is it a slow form of poison, a catalyst to create more FEAR? The point of this mission is to get to that 'why.'" Lex began to pace around the small circle the Hunters had created, effectively herding them as he spoke.

"This mission is a prolonged one - we will be in and out of the main world for at least a month, if not longer. We need to build trust, find candidates and test subjects, make our presence discreet yet known to the right people. We'll need some of you-" Now Lex's grey eyes fell on the younger ones of the group, and anyone shorter than the average bear "To infiltrate the student body, act like students and pass around information, as well as build a trust towards the rest of us, who will be performing as substitute teachers, security officers, and janitors." His briefing was intentionally vague, only a few of the Hunters present knew what his means were to his ends.

"I should warn you now, what we will do has major social repercussions. Morally, this mission is far from sound. If any of you retain any sort code, or a certain false dignity, I suggest you excuse yourself. This mission is not dangerous to us, though that does not mean it will not put someone - or someones - in danger."

"Excellent question, Oliver. I'm glad to see someone is thinking critically." Lex smirked, giving an aloof gaze around the room. Someone was going to be promoted to the status of favorite child. "you're all going to be given aliases with full backgrounds, all coming from different schools across the country. The gist will be that your parent or guardian was transferred to Idaho by a mega-corp, and you had no other family to stay with. Again, your biography will give you the specifics."

Lex cleared his throat, arms still resting on the back of his armchair as his grey eyes continued in their meandering about the assembled faces, his own completely blank. "Any other questions?"