[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker felt Misti grabbing his sleeve. He automatically bended his arm away, it wasn't anything personal towards Misti, it was just that he didn't like being touched without seeing it coming. Only his assistant could really do it, and only if Acker was in a good mood.

Acker was a bit annoyed at Misti for interrupting him "I'm your friendly neighbourhood Iron Man, remember? Iron Man doesn't run away from danger" he fixed it. Although that answer sounded sarcastic, Acker could actually do something about this. However, he frowned at her tone because he didn't quite catch if she was mad, worried or both.

"St--!" he couldn't even finish that one word that Misti was already gone. He witnessed her playing the part of the hero right after scolding him about running towards the screams. Quite the hypocrite. He used the moment to make a few calls. To the Sector for a potential Gifted activity. And to his men for security, they knew the protocol.

Before, when he had used sarcasm with Misti, he was hiding his worry. Even though he was trying to push it aside, and to not admit it, he was worried about his family present at the function. His younger brother was there, his mother, and some cousins.

Even though he told himself that he was separated from his family, in reality he cared about them. Sure, his family could be an annoyance, especially when dragging him to social events, but he was genuinely loved by his family and he was affected by that love in all the positive ways, like it or not.

Acker commended Misti's quick thinking with the heels turned weapons. But, the running towards the piano was a huge disappointment. The piano was on the stage. Who else was on the stage? Hook. The student had been completely erased like the text in those books, the fictional characters were as real as Misti and Acker.

The Jolly Roger's crew was real. That was 100% Hook on the stage from his appearance down to his mannerisms and even his English accent as it was heard when he finally spoke. The characters had taken over the identity of the students, as if they had been switched.

Acker couldn't hear what the Captain had said to Misti, but he could see what he did.

As quick as a flash, Hook unleashed his sword in front of Misti once she was close enough to the stage. The blade was an inch away from her throat. Acker's smart glassed scanned the weapons. The Captain's hook, his rapier seventeenth century sword, and his pistol were all real.

The hook was on the Captain's right hand, instead of the left, like in the original novel. So, this Captain was a mix of both the original and the Disney version. On Acker's glasses a bunch of text started rolling down, it was information about Hook.

A particular line caught Acker's attention: Bad/Good form, Eton College, Hook was part of the upper class before becoming a pirate. That was the ticket. Hook was always torn apart by his murderous nature as a pirate and his aristocratic formality's good form.

Acker couldn't wait for his men and appropriate robots to arrive, if he waited too long Misti or someone else, someone like one of his family members, could die.

"Bad form, dear Captain!" Acker made his entrance "Nicholas!" his distraught mother voice cut through the tense atmosphere in the room. Acker had to close his eyes in frustration for a second. His mother should have stayed silent, just one of the many faces in the crowd. Instead, she had put herself in danger by shouting his name.

One of the pirates went to grab Emilia, however he was stopped by the Captain with a simple, but elegant gesture. For some random unknown reason, Acker wondered where Smee was, an intrusive thought that just popped in his mind. He didn't like intrusive thoughts. They were signs of illogical thinking and it wouldn't do. He needed his logic and his intelligence undisturbed right now.

Acker felt relief when the pirate was stopped, but it was clear that the Captain wanted Acker to finish speaking "The lady is unarmed" the tone also implied that a man attacking a woman was bad form because of the natural disadvantage, Acker did not believe that, his experience with Hunters had shown him how fiercely anyone could fight man or woman.

The Captain had had a wild look the second he had drown his sword, his blue eyes almost turning to red, but his look changed and the sword turned back into its holster "What may your full name be, Sir Nicholas...?" an English posh accent was clearly audible, an accent unfamiliar to a pirate, but familiar to someone from the upper class. The student couldn't have ever made that accent so accurately, another sign that the student was completely gone, there was only Hook.

"Dr. Nicholas Acker Villin" good form dictated that someone had to always present themselves in full "A Doctor..." the posh tone sounded sarcastically impressed "...Wouldn't a doctor know that wearing glasses inside is bad form?" the two men had started sparring, but by using their wits as weapons.

Acker apologised and swiftly put the glasses away, what kind of a blockhead was he for forgetting to take them off? He was irritated at himself, but he didn't show it.

The Captain was weary, suspicious of how Acker knew exactly what button to push. But, the doctor here hadn't had that much of a choice. He looked at Misti for a moment and his brain remembered that she and the Captain had something in common: they were both excellent pianists, even if the Captain had a hook for a hand.

"Focus on me. Focus on me until my robots will deal with you" Acker thought while staring at the Captain. The two men stared at each other for awhile, Acker perfectly aware that he was knocking on death's door. He wasn't risking his life for the simpletons rich snobs, but for his family and the workers, which included Misti, the people he deemed worthy.

"Give the lady her shoes back" the Captain was till staring at Acker when he ordered his pirates around. The pirate, the one hit by the shoe just moments before, grabbed the shoes from the floor and brought them back to Misti, although it was clear by the look he gave her that he wanted to do something else to her.

Acker was still standing there, waiting for the Captain's next move. However, his mother made the next move instead. She put herself between her son and the Captain "Stop this nonsense! Security will be here soon!" Acker had wanted to stop his mother from even reaching his spot, but the Captain had raised his hand in an admonishing manner.

"Your accent is peculiar like..." he pointed at a pirate "...Cecco's. Tuscan, I believe" the Captain was right, Emilia was from Tuscany, but she kept her composure like a proper Villin "What would your name be Mrs...?" nononono "Emilia Villin" the Captain smiled, a smile that on the surface seemed courteous, but Acker's eyes were trained by experience to see what truly laid behind those posh smiles "Villin? You share the same name as our dear Doctor" outwardly he was stoic, but Acker had just gotten exceptionally worried.

Misti Manning

//I'm very sorry that this is so long! Sorry!//

[Misti Manning]

((Woops for some reason I thought the piano was somewhere different to the stage x3 my bad~))

Misti, who’d re-entered the hall a few moments after Acker, hadn’t even seen Hook due to her initial focus on the Villin and the situation with Barbara. The sword at her throat brought her to an abrupt halt. Thankfully the pirate chasing her stopped as well; if he’d ran into her, he would have pushed her into the blade.

There was no doubt in her mind that the sword was real. And unfortunately it seemed that the pirate who chased Misti wasn’t the only one who was taking this ‘prank’ too far. What was this, a mass psychotic break? Had a chemical leaked in one of the university’s laboratories to cause an imbalance in their brains? Or were they the gang who attacked the university initially, trying to make it all into a game?

Acker chose that moment to intervene, calling out to Hook in a fashion that indicated to Misti he was playing along with the mad man. She kept her eyes on Hook even after the sword had been sheathed, suspecting that he was volatile enough to draw it again at a moment's notice. The two men had a short back-and-forth before settling into an impromptu staring contest. Where the hell was security? Shouldn’t they have been on high alert since the university had recently been attacked?

The return of her shoes was unexpected. She considered holding onto them in case she needed to use projectiles again, but the pirate’s glare told her he knew what she was thinking, so she dutifully slipped them back on to avoid increasing his ire. She hadn’t forgotten about the weapons in his possession.

Emilia's entrance finally drew Misti's eyes away from Hook. Emilia's words echoed Misti's thoughts, but it was clear the pirates would not listen to reason. Worse, Emilia was probably one of the most well-known and well-liked rich people in the building; if they took her hostage, whatever demands they had would probably be met and they'd probably get away with creating chaos that evening. For obvious reasons, Misti really wanted them to get caught. 

Either way, the entire ordeal was absurd. And at that moment, making it more absurd was the only solution she could think of.

Misti snickered. A few people nearby glanced in her direction, but it wasn’t enough, so she spoke directly to the captain. “You seriously think that’s Emilia Villin? You’re kidding right?” Hook turned towards her, one of his thin eyebrows raised. Despite the quickening pace of her heartbeat, Misti was able to keep her voice steady. “Come on, she’s obviously a decoy to distract you from the real Emilia.”

He looked baffled. Understandably so. Misti herself had no idea where she was going with this. Unbeknownst to her, he was truly Captain Hook from the tales who had no idea who Emilia was apart from her relation to Acker, so he probably thought she was just another socialite. “And why, pray tell, would this dear lady lie?”

“Why would I lie?” Misti countered. “You think I’d try to deceive someone who held a sword to my throat? The real Emilia is with Peter Pan.” She couldn’t believe those words just came out of her mouth. Still, if it were a matter of stalling for time until security arrived, it would have to do. “They abandoned us all. In fact, I think we would like to join your team instead.” There was a tittering like hyenas that rose up from the other pirates. Ah, maybe that had been a step too far. The attention was off Emilia, at least.

Hook humoured her. “And what could you offer us, hm?”

She hesitated.


Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

The university's security was observing what was happening in the cctv room. It was a room filled with monitors showing footage of the security cameras around the university. The security guards were all focusing on the monitors with live footage of the main fundraising area. They were baffled: Why had they been told to stand down? They couldn't intervene. They could just observe via the monitors as if they were watching some twisted tv show. But 'normal security' couldn't deal with Gifted activity, not this time around. The Sector was sending security specialised in dealing with Gifted situations. Meanwhile, the Sector had told Acker to keep the situation stagnant until their arrival.

A part deep inside, that Acker always tried to keep six feet under, felt gratefulness towards Misti for trying to help his mother. Sure, she was actually making things worse, but Acker imagined that Misti didn't know what was truly happening. Perhaps she didn't know about the Gifted. Like his family, they didn't know. Franklin, his younger brother, and his cousins had been told by Emilia to not speak, to blend as much as possible. However, Franklin was also mesmerized by what he believed to be psychotic actors.

Acker felt shivers down his arms reaching his fingerprints when Hook asked clarifications about the lie. If the Captain was led to believe that Emilia was lying then there was no telling how Hook would react. Only J.M. Barrie could have truly known. However, Misti kept talking and the attention was off Emilia.

Hook turned his blue gaze from Misti to Acker and walked down the stage, his red coat swaying behind him. He stopped walking once he was standing in front of Acker. Standing in front of each other felt like two versions of Hook. The pirate he was and the posh version he could have become if he had taken another path "What would you offer us, Doctor? Hm? Perhaps an explanation? The where, when, and how?" the Captain remembered eating dinner on his ship a moment and the next he was standing around a table, in his hands a book without words.

There was a little pause and then Hook whispered so that only the dear Doctor could hear "I can see it in your eyes..." Hook slowly leaned in "...you have the same adventurous spirit as mine" Hook meant that he believed Acker to also be a killer "You are a wolf in sheep's clothing" the Captain's hook pulled at Acker's suit collar in a mocking manner "But do not worry, your secret is safe with Captain Hook" he tapped his nose with his index, a gesture that meant something was a secret and should not be revealed.

Even though the secret had been whispered, Emilia had heard it by being near to her son, something that the Captain was aware of. Acker felt anger towards Hook rise up in his chest when he saw his mother rise a questioning eyebrow. His family didn't know about his true nature, they believed him to be as good as they were.

The tense atmosphere was broken when Smee made his entrance, Barrie's book in hand, he was reading out loud the last moments of his Captain "...Captain! This book's about us all! About your death! The Pan kills ya!" Smee hadn't bothered reading the room, after all he had been too busy reading books.

Acker's mind went back to that Hook movie when he saw Smee. It was like a long lost twin. Now that he thought about it, the Captain too was very similar to the one in the Hook movie, but younger and the hair seemed genuine instead of a wig, however the clothes were almost a perfect match. How was it possible? Perhaps the union of the original version and the Disney version formed a Hook most similar to the one in that movie? Or maybe it wasn't really a 50/50 mixture, but more like...the mad scientist snapped out of it, this wasn't the moment to analyse data.

The dear Captain turned his head to look at his boatswain and reached out his hand for the book. Smee obediently put the book into the Captain's open gloved palm. Heavy silence filled the room while he was reading. Hook was enthralled by the book and reading fast, flipping page after page, his death described in every detail. He knew now, he knew how he was going to die. He could avoid it. Knowledge was power indeed.

Acker wondered how it felt like reading about your own death. Although, the Doctor couldn't know if the Captain was believing a word in that book. It had to be very confusing for the Captain reading about himself in a book written by someone he had never met.

In that moment Acker's phone buzzed, luckily without alerting any unwanted attention. Damn his glasses being in his pocket because he couldn't read the message. Surely, he couldn't put his hand in his pocket and fetch his phone without the risk of the hook piercing his flesh. Acker felt his power sensing drones in the building. If the drones were here then it meant his team had arrived, the buzz had to be a message from them informing him of their arrival.

Acker's men knew what to do, however the Sector was in control of the operation so they had to follow the Sector's instructions. They, the drones and the men, positioned themselves strategically. The drones became invisible to eye, Acker had managed it by working on an already existing technology that 'bended light' like that real life invisibly cloak designed by a camouflage developer, although he had upgraded it thanks to his power.

"Capt'n! Capt'n!" Cecco, the Italian pirate mentioned before, urgently ran towards Hook "There are armed men all around us! We are surrounded!" Acker internally cursed his men for being so careless or the pirates were more competent than they appeared. The Captain didn't seem worried though which worried Acker.

Hook ordered Smee to secure the book and then ordered Cecco to take Emilia hostage. Then the Captain walked with a decisive and elegant nonchalant pace towards Misti with the intention of taking her hostage personally. Misti still had time to react. In fact, to Acker it seemed that Hook was giving Misti time to react on purpose as if he wanted an excuse to react himself. After all, the other pirates were near enough to Misti to take her captive without delay, but no, Hook had decided to take his time.

Acker had to will his drones to stop or bloodshed would have ensued from both sides. A tattooed, muscular and tall pirate grabbed Acker's arms from behind and bended them. The other pirates scattered about and took the others hostage by pointing their guns at the crowd.

Misti Manning

//Wait! Was the piano somewhere else? Did I make a mistake? I'm very sorry!
ps. A strong, tattooed, muscular and tall pirate ---> insert another adjective here lol//