Project: Pantheon

"Ah...I think it's best I answer this one, kids..." the man known as robotnik spoke. "For the longest time, there's always been a divide in those who are different. Humans and mobians alike have feared what is different from them. Humans have feared mobians for their power to potentially oppose them, Mobians fear humans for they outnumber them and hold more technogical and political power in the world. Rumors have been spread by both sides, a lot of nasty things have been said..." Robotnik eyed the other kids, uneasy for a moment. "I'd...rather not repeat those rumors in front of the kids. They've experienced enough of the conflict and discrimination themselves. To put it simply...humans do not receive the same rights in Mobian countries, and Mobians do not receive the same rights in human countries. They deserve better than this. I don't agree with everything, and I've been working with NWO to help establish a new leadership among the world. To establish, as their name stands for, a 'New World Order'." Sonic decided to speak up, "Hey Eggman! What stuff have you been working on lately?" "Ohohoho! Allow me to show you..." He beckoned the kids to follow him, before presenting them with two mechanicalized objects. One appeared to be a crimson red orb whilst the other was a shiny yellow cube. Loki perked up at the sight of an orb, "Oh cool! A kickball! Lemme guess! You kick it towards your enemies and it EXPLODES!"

Edith poked them, "...Are these supposed to be something pokemon or minecraft related?"

"Not quite! Observe." Robotnik said, taking out a remote-like device from his pocket, inputting a few commands before suddenly, the shapes began to move, transforming in shape. Before their eyes, they took the form of two robots. "This is Orbot, and Cubot. They're going to be acting as caretakers and general assistants for the company. They'll be watching over you all whenever I'm away." The one known as Orbot started to speak, a calm gentle tone to their voice. "Greetings, children! It is a pleasure to meet you!" The yellow robot known as Cubot spoke with a much more casual, "Hiiiiiii!"

Loki's face deadpanned. "...Eggman don't you think we're, I don't know, a little OLD for babysitter robots? I'm fourteen! I don't need some half-pint to tell me what to do!"

Keahi stepped forth, picking up the yellow robot in her hand. "Knowing robotnik, he knows our potential. Clearly they must be made to train us to be true soldiers, they must be capable of incredible combat in such a compact size, I accept this challenge!!"

Robotnik tried to reach a hand forth, "Keahi- WAIT-"

Before they knew it, Keahi had thrown a heavy punch towards the robot, knocking it's head clean off. The robot, known as Cubot, seemed still capable of speaking despite being beheaded, "Am I making a good impression, boss?"

Subject Codename: Scylla

Original Name: Daze

Species: Sea Swallow

Pronouns: She/They

Age: 13

Current Abilities: She is capable of generating poison from her palms, this poison she’s capable of manipulating as well due to the energy within the poison. This poison is only lethal in high doses, and will cause paralysis and pain depending on the dosage. She also can breathe underwater as a sea mobian.

Weaknesses: The amount of venom she generates tires her out, causing her to grow a tired nature. Her venom can only work on organic individuals, and cannot work on inorganic individuals such as robots. She also has low levels of endurance, and requires a large amount of hydration due to being a sea mobian.

Summary: Origin unknown, been in development for one year. A recent experiment, who had risen up from the ocean. It is unknown which aquatic city she comes from, as she refuses to tell anyone anything about her culture, seemingly suspicious of the territory she’s found herself in. She was discovered by NWO officers asking if they were the gods that wished to devour her people. She has not provided context for this statement, but she had agreed to come into the Pantheon Project for testing under the promise that she would obtain the power to protect her people. She tends to not interact as much with the others, sleeping most of the time to preserve her energy, but she usually is seen as the ‘sleepy little sister’ of the group.

Subject Codename: Pele

Original Name: Keahi

Species: Stingray

Pronouns: She/They

Age: 15

Current Abilities: She is capable of summoning magma from the earth, capable of emitting it from small 2 ft volcanos. She is also skilled in martial arts.

Weaknesses: Her body grows unstable whenever she enters water, causing a great amount of pain, she cannot return to the ocean. She also can only summon magma from the earth, thus she cannot fight in the air.

Summary: A teenager from Adabat, she has been in development for six years. She was found attacking a factory in Station Square, where she was detained and sent to the authorities. According to her claims, her father was killed by humans, thus she wanted to go to war with them. After a series of convincing, she was convinced to join the NWO Project Pantheon to ensure she gets the chance to make the world right, along with the chance to become stronger. She is currently the eldest experiment, and has shown to be a dangerous one in direct combat with her ability. She acts as an older sibling for the other ones, trying to ensure the others become strong alongside her.

Subject Codename: Skadi

Original Name: Cryo

Species: Snow Leopard

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 14

Current Abilities: She has the power of cryokinesis, capable of freezing anything that comes into her grasp. Her cryokinetic power is rather great, capable of freezing those around her.

Weaknesses: She struggles to control her own cryokinesis, and it causes her to be in a constantly freezing state of being. Her body is fragile when exposed to fire, growing unstable as she will receive a large amount of damage. This does not stop her from seeking out warmth whenever plausible.

Summary: A girl from Holoska, been in development for 5 years. Skadi was moved to a human city in station square, but was struggling to adjust and keep up with the human settlement, especially during school. She joined NWO labs in the hopes of making a difference between humans and mobians. Her parents are currently being compensated for her testing in exchange for her experimentation. Despite constantly being told to stay away from sources of great heat, she cannot help but try to seek out any source of heat as her cryokinetic powers are overwhelmingly cold, causing her teeth to chatter and to constantly feel cold. She’s grown fond of spending time with the experiment Pele due to her fiery nature. She wants to seek control over her abilities to stop herself from freezing everything in her path.

Subject Codename: Ishtar

Original Name: Edith

Species: Dove (Babylonian Descent)

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 14

Current Abilities: She's shown the ability to manifest any sort of sound she wishes, capable of producing sounds from any direction within a fifty foot radius around her. Mastery of this ability is still under way, more is being researched.

Weaknesses: Overuse of her abilities can cause her body to grow sore, much like a throat can become sore from overuse.

Summary: A girl that originated from Apotos, been in development for three years. Claims to have come from Babylonian descent, and yet she refuses to take part in the thievery. She came from a single father that was overprotective of her according to her accounts, yet she seems to show signs of distress when remembering her family. She ran away from her home, coming into the arms of our NWO agents. She fears anyone stronger than her, frantically trying to respect anyone stronger than her. She has a fear of gods, wanting to respect them to the best of her ability, likely due to past trauma. She wishes to become a goddess in order to overcome her fears and finally fly free. She cowers behind the other experiments, supporting them from behind.

Subject Codename: Loki

Original Name: N/A

Species: Black Ghost Mantis

Pronouns: She/Her

Age: 14

Current Abilities: As a mantis, she is capable of unsheathing and retracting a set of large scythe-like appendages, capable of cutting through metal with ease. Her primary ability is the ability to transform into a shadow, capable of mutating her body into darkness. Extensive use of this form will cause instability. She can also form small shadow constructs, such as a small sphere she can use as a projectile.

Weaknesses: Her shadow constructs struggle to hold durability in the light, and it becomes increasingly difficult for her to maintain her shadow form when exposed to light, causing her to burn through energy much quicker.

Summary: One of the longest-running experiments, Loki is the direct daughter of the lead scientist of NWO labs, Xavier Ivorwood. Thus, she’s been in development for her entire life, fourteen years, and was given a codename at birth. There’s been a one year hiatus in development where Xavier refused to operate on her, before eventually being convinced to resume development. She’s proved to be one of the most successful experiments. She displays behavior of enjoying to show off her abilities, trying her best to secure her position as one of the most important experiments. She also seems to show signs of anger when Xavier shows fatherly affection to the other experiments, hinting at signs of jealousy inside of her.

Subject codename: Zephyr

Original name: Sonic

Species: Hedgehog

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 14

Current abilities: Zephyr is capable of reaching incredible speeds past what any recorded living being on mobius has been capable of. It is currently unrecorded how fast the hedgehog is capable of, yet more testing is being conducted. He is capable of breaking through metal with his strength, along with being capable of performing a skill he calls a ‘spindash’, capable of rolling into a ball that traverses as a destructive force.

Weaknesses: Zephyr doesn’t have many weaknesses, however one of his greatest weaknesses comes from his inability to swim. They have a fear of water due to traumatic experiences.

Summary: A boy that originated from Christmas Island. Been in development for 9 years. He’s the few survivors of a typhoon incident striking the island. The orphaned children had to be given off to different homes, one of which was NWO Labs. So far he’s one of the most promising experiments to be seen, being capable of impressive feats with his abilities. He’s been somewhat of a leader figure with the other experiments, though they seem to have gathered a rivalry with the experiment known as Loki. He’s gained a strong bond with the lead scientist Xavier Ivorwood, seeing the man as a father figure of sorts. He’s eager, ambitious and kind, eager to see the world after being in the dark for so long.

A mobian walks forth, he’s wearing a clean lab coat, his fur coat a deep mossy green with bangs that covered one of his tired eyes, his eye a bright green. The two antennae over his head indicated that he was an insect of some sort. He was at a desk, shuffling some papers in his hand as he looked directly into the camera facing him.

“Greetings. I am Xavier Ivorwood. This is…a report note to staff working at the NWO. New recruits, new researchers working at the current project site. This is the Pantheon Project division, and should any questions need to be asked, we’ll provide answers for our different workers. If you're new to this environment then…well. We’re trying to create something to counter the various threats that have been made towards mobian society. Primarily the threats given to us from the human race. As you know, tensions have been escalating, there have been…numerous threats from both sides. Threats of…taking over homes. Threats of violence. Threats of…murder and…threats of war.”

He shuffled through a few more papers as he spoke, clearing his throat. “...There’s been people who have looked towards the past, looking at the disasters that have occured in the past, and people…no longer feel safe, not even in their own homes. Here at this division…we’re looking to try and create peacemakers. Or…if I may be so bold, heroes. We’ve researched ancient ruins, ancient prophecies of a multitude of religions, history, and…made several advancements through science as well. And… ah hell. Let’s get straight to the point of all of this.” He then started to look directly towards the camera taking a deep breath.

“...We’re turning kids into gods. If you find our research immoral or disturbing at any time to the point where you wish to stop working with the project, we recommend you take the experimental branch with the…” He groaned, motioning with his hand before wildly searching through his notes, trying to find the proper terminology, before ultimately giving up. “The…the upper departments should have something to help with memory alterations just, just ask them they’ll know.”

“...Now I’m not gonna sugarcoat this. This is…immoral work we do here. But you have to think of the potential of what we do here. We’re making heroes that will save our future. We have…multiple children that have shown progress, most of them are around the age of fourteen-.”

As he was speaking, a paper airplane slowly soared through the air from offscreen and hit the side of his head harmlessly, with the sound of several giggles from some unforeseen individuals. A deep breath came from Xavier, before someone would peek from the side, a little blue hedgehog with frizzy quills looking over the counter. “So uhhh…you still busy, Xavier?”