A World of Heroes

Alyson listened with no small amount of interest at Sandy's story. Being able to see light that shouldn't be visible to human eyes, grabbing the attention of a huge defense company... Way more exciting than her, "I-got-doused-with-chemicals-that-turned-me-into-a-Queen-Vespa" story...

"I'm sorry if I sound less than transparent about my past..."

"Really?" She leaned forward while still resting her chin on her hands. Something inside her wanted to know eveything about Sandy. Mysteries always excited her. It's half the reason she became a scientist, after all. "Don't get me wrong, your-" She suddenly realized that her voice was rising with every word and brought it back down. "You have an awesome superpower. Everyone knows about the Flying Bricks and such, but I don't know if anyone can...well..." Her field of expertise was not electromagnetic radiation, and it was beginning to show. "Do what you do," she finished meekly.

"But I find it hard to believe that people wouldn't want to know you for...you." She shrugged. She had always felt a disconnect in regards to most Supers, specifically Miss Amazing and Slipstream and the like, perhaps because she wasn't born with her superpowers. On the other hand, here she was, having a conversation with a real Super, but she didn't see a Super; she saw a guy. A college kid, like herself. Sure, he was smart, and good-looking, and successful (Alyson's father still paid for her tuition), and likely had better control of his powers than she, but he was still a person. She suddenly realized that she was staring at him. She made the conscious decision to blink.

Regaining her composure she continued, "Like I was saying, people shouldn't just see your superpower. They should see you. I do."

She took a quick sip of water. Then a quick gulp of said water.

"As far as I know, the only person who knows that I have a superpower, or what it is, is my father. And that's because he's partially responsible." She mentally counted her friends. Nope. She hadn't told any of them. "Who wants to hear that I could summon a killer swarm of wasps at any moment. I get the feeling that people would treat me way differently if they knew..."

edited 28th Oct '11 6:57:42 AM by KarlKadaver

"Hey Mal all this lovey dovey stuff bores me let's make some mischief."

As Alyson was sipping her water, John appeared on the scene, in a deserted table on the corner. Usually, he was more conservative with his powers, but Schroedinger was running on far less sleep than he had been letting on. Still, this restaurant would hopefully have coffee to keep him up, lest his... Problem lead to a more awkward situation.

"Of course," Mal smiled at the other chap before looking towards Doppler at the other table.

Leaning back in his seat he floated over Doppler's mind, passively eavesdropping on the lovey-doveyness. And then...

Pretty thing, isn't she? So, you going to try and "show her your superpowers?"

Yeah, Mal enjoyed this.

Sandy jumped. Not just a twitch or a double take, a panicked jump that only avoided knocking over the cup of water by the narrowest of margins.

"...Christ," he breathed. He glanced around the restaurant with narrowed eyes, and it took him all of two seconds to narrow in on Incubus and Emote. He sputtered comically for a few seconds before he regained his composure.

"Excuse me, Alyson, and I'm very sorry for this, but there are a couple of telepathic heads that I'm going to have to knock together," he said in a overly calm, sweet voice. "Look left, two tables over...yes, the smug grinning bastard over there. Smile! Apparently we're on telepathic dinner theatre!"

He mustered up the best glare he could put together—not all that effective given that he was still recovering his calm—and directed it at Wolf, along with a mental spike of pure indignation. Well...not just indignation; the other thought in his mind was what, again?! Have you really nothing better to do than—

He stiffened as he noticed something. The table in the corner was certainly empty a minute ago, and nobody had come through the door. Part glad for the distraction but partly tensed up, he made sure the next bit would be audible to Alyson and clearly audible on telepathy. "Also, rear corner. Table. Guy sure as hell wasn't there before."

edited 1st Nov '11 2:20:08 AM by SabresEdge

John had no idea the suspicion he had aroused. Normally, he just teleported to the same basic location in a restaurant and people were completely ignorant of his presence. However, those people didn't have the training that Doppler had. And so, with a genuine smile, the teleporter ordered his coffee, an extra strong blend, sure to keep him awake.

Alyson jumped in her seat immediately after Sandy, believeing that maybe one of her wasps had gotten him. No! No! Not the drone! "Are you okay, I-"

"Excuse me, Alyson, and I'm very sorry for this, but there are a couple of telepathic heads that I'm going to have to knock together..."

She breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over to the table he mentioned. Sure enough, Emote, Dax, and the other telepath were seated at a nearby table. She awkwardly smiled and waved, noting the way Sandy had said "Telepathic Dinner Theatre." How much did they- Oop! Don't think too loudly. Is that how it works? Can someone even think loudly?

"Also, rear corner. Table. Guy sure as hell wasn't there before..."

She looked back and noticed the guy in the back with the hoodie. That's weird. I didn't notice him, but the vespa sure would have... That's when she noticed a small group of yellow jackets bouncing off the window beside them, probably trying desperately to alert her and "the Drone" to the presence of their "audience." She edged closer to the window and tapped her finger on the glass. Thank you, girls. She looked around and saw an air conditioning unit toward the back of the diner. She tapped her finger on the glass again. See that? You can probably get in there if something bad happens. Just be careful, okay? The wasps stopped their buzzing and stood on the glass. Then they all directed themselves toward the A/C unit. Alyson smiled to herself.

They understood.

I might not be as bad at this as I thought...

As he waited for his coffee, John noticed a peculiar sight. Some bees or wasps on the window. The first thought in his head was, of course, Bees. My God... but then another, far more terrifying thought made it's way through his mind. Crap! These people might be in danger! What do wasps have against cafes anyway?! Maybe I should warn everyone... No, play it cool... Odds are someone's pulling the strings, if I alert people things might get real ugly real fast...

Emote had been listening in too, and pointed the stranger out to Mal. ""Perfect opportunity."" Emote grinned, then activated his powers, focusing them on the newcomer. He project the sound of tiny, membraneous wings, the feeling of six small legs crawling on the back of his neck...

edited 1st Nov '11 2:40:18 PM by MrGibberringGenius

John sat there completely frozen. Whatever creature was on his neck, he was going to kill it through patience and a well-placed hand on his neck. Aside from that, if he panicked visibly, then John might attract the attention of the super who's controlling the insects...or did the culprit already know he was there... Damnit where the hell is my coffee

At Doppler's warning, Mal cast his mind's view on the chap in the corner, smirking slightly at Emote's trick.

While he really would have enjoyed taunting Doppler some more, he guessed this guy would do for entertainment.

The police commissioner surveyed the room. Almost all of the captains were here tonight, along with a good number of other police, and even a couple of supers. Neither of those were anyone really major, though. Most of the bigger-name ones were out on other work, and he knew they couldn't afford to disrupt that.

Briefly he wished whatshisname - Doppler, that was it - would have been able to attend. He was one of the more reliable supers, from the reports. Supposedly had a very level head, regardless of whether he had to deal with a criminal gang or even a pretty face. Couldn't be helped though.

"Attention, everyone," the commissioner spoke up, "I don't like calling you all to headquarters for an emergency meeting like this, so I'll get to the point. The mayor is practically up in arms over this 'Anima' showing up at the bank this morning. We're probably going to have to send someone to arrest her tomorrow."

"But she's a kid," one captain pointed out.

"I see you read the reports, same as me," the commissioner grumbled, "But she is a risk, I'll admit, so we do have to do something, and taking her into custody is probably the safest-"

"Let me out, I'm stuck in your pocket," a melodic voice suddenly interrupted. The commissioner paled, realizing he'd forgotten to turn his cellphone off. He swore next time he'd remember, or his name wasn't Douglas.

"Whoops," he said, pulling it out. A handful of police laughed as he inspected the errant cellphone. Not recognizing the number, he pushed a button, "Who is this?"

"Boom," a dry voice whispered.

The commissioner's world ignited into flame. He fell to the side as the walls seemed to slowly melt away. He barely had time to note he oddly couldn't hear any sound before blacking out.

John was still awaiting the sting that wouldn't come. Is this a warning? Why does no one else notice the wasps? Why am I the only one with a wasp on me? Goddamnit... Where the hell is my coffee? The thoughts were swirling in his head the most pressing thought however, was: who was pulling the strings here?

Sandy noticed Mal smirking at the newcomer—and the newcomer's frozen stillness. He could guess what was going on, especially since the wasps hovering outside had moved away.

It was all he could do not to bury his head in his hands. Incubus was an invaluable partner out on the deterrence patrols and on more official missions, since between the two of them they could perform just about every kind of surveillance on a target building. Unfortunately he also seemed to possess a sense of humor reminiscent of a housecat, and everybody else was the proverbial ball of yarn. And that didn't count what Emote was capable of. Between the two of them...argh. Suddenly coffee seemed like a very good idea.

Wolf, just...ugh. Look, if you really have to fulfill your mental trolling quota for the day—

He was interrupted by the klaxon of his cell phone: two short, one long, alternating high and low pitch. That meant Captain Marco.

"Doppler," he said quietly. The annoyance drained out of his face, leaving an emotionless expression. "Confirm abort, then. ...all right, that's nice. Rapid reaction arriving in five minutes? Aye, sir. We'll be waiting."

Without a word Sandy flipped his phone closed and hustled out onto the street, almost on autopilot. The cafe windows were either facing the wrong direction or were obstructed, and the city police department headquarters were away to their southwest...

In the setting sunlight, colored pastel, a pillar of smoke curled into the sky above the skyline.

Oh come now Doppler, it's harmless-

Despite the amusing mental image of him being a housecat, Mal's fun had come to an end with Doppler's phone call.

Oh shit.

Mal's smirk left his face as he got up and followed Doppler outside, motioning for Emote and Quantum to follow.

Despite the warning from Doppler's mind as to the smoke, it had no less impact when he saw it.

Alyson glanced back at the guy in the black hoodie and noticed him fidgeting. She turned back to Sandy to ask if he thought that they were being followed when she saw that all emotion had drained from his face. Believing that Mal was somehow responsible she was about to confirm it when Sandy got up from his seat and left the diner. She tried to stick as close to him as she could while trying to get any kind of read on him.

After stepping outside the diner, she followed his gaze to the plume of smoke and suddenly realized that something was terribly, terribly wrong, judging by the collective expression on the other heroes' faces.

The wasps that had been buzzing around the diner suddenly became very agitated and set themselves to partroling the area. Their queen was distressed about something.

Emote was too focused on the intruder exactly what was happening, but he saw Mal's signal none the less. He simulated a very painful wasp sting on the back of his target's neck and followed Mal outside. He was relaxed until he saw the smoke. "Oh crap."

My thoughts exactly. Mal "said" to Emote. Sighing heavily, he walked to his car. It'll be faster if we drive.

Casting a look to Doppler he knew that the rest of the day was not going to be a happy one.

That sting was what sent John over the edge. Despite the fact that John needed his coffee, he would run out and go home. As he ran, almost on instinct, he noticed the looks on the others' faces and took a look in the same direction. Oh great, a pillar of smoke... never a dull moment in this city... With that thought, Schroedinger snuck away and teleported to the highest available rooftop for better inspection. Hopefully his wake-a-thon wasn't going to negatively affect him now. That would just suck

edited 11th Nov '11 12:01:41 AM by wannabeotaku

Emote hopped into the car, and immediately began loading his shotgun. "This doesn't look good." He noted. "Do you want me to do crowd control when we get there?"

'"I suggest you do so friend." Dax turned to Mal. "What do you want me to do sir?"

edited 11th Nov '11 3:25:16 PM by zam

Quantum, when we get there mabe you can try and track the firebrand. Incubus said as he put the key in, And yeah Emote - emotions are closer to your field than mine. Also it would be interesting to watch you work.

Once both guys were in the car, Incubus revved the engine. Can one of you shout at the lovebirds to see if they want to get in? Probing Doppler right now would be equivalent to suicide.

Not good not good not good... For a moment Doppler was again in the past, barely a month ago, where two opposing supers seemingly bent on annihilating each other with total disregard for civilian life battled in and around the city. There was smoke then, too, and the dusty clouds, the skyscrapers collapsing with their steel ribs torn and bent, and the air filled with the electronic scream of paramilitary radios warning everyone who could hear them to get out—

He shook his head, still dazed, before noticing that Mal's group had gotten into their car. In response he shook his head and closed his eyes, focusing on the broadcast of—yes, there it was, the distinctive electronic crackle of a police radio, visible to his senses like a beacon, and he traced its progress with his outstretched hand as it rounded the block and pulled up next to the cafe, lights and sirens not yet turned out, the two-person crew ashen-faced by the sight of the smoke plume.

It would be some time before New Terrin got over the trauma of the disaster, Sandy thought...

"Central headquarters, explosion of some sort," said the driver, a female police sergeant. "We're all heading there as soon as we have everyone. Marco's reorganizing every asset we bookmarked for the raid on ninja-boy's basement..."

"Aye," Sandy said. He jerked a thumb at the other car. "They're with us, the other registereds on our raid. Without the siren to get us through the tangle it might take us hours." He looked over to make sure Alyson was properly strapped in. Wolf, we clear a path on the highway, you trail. Forget about speeding tickets. Probable crowd control or SAR at destination, eyes open for follow-ups if it's an IED or other attack, and—shit, that's all I can think of for now. Copy?

With some bemusement he noticed that he'd suddenly gone to the clipped, quasi-military tones of the SWAT teams and the National Guard out of habit, or to prevent himself from descending into panic. Somewhere at the back of his consciousness a little voice noted idly that it would be a very long day—also, that his first proper date in months had just been wrecked in dramatic fashion. He squeezed his eyes shut as the patrol car accelerated into the traffic and the sirens and turning lights broke the pattern of cars entirely. Time to worry about that later.

Copy. Emote will handle crowd control when we get there, I'll do thought surveillance and find anything I can. Incubus nodded slightly as he pulled the car out of the spot. You'll be fine - we've dealt with worse shit than this.

Schroedinger followed the smoke to its source. Part of him thought that it was exciting that he'd finally see some action, another part of him was nervous, and the last part of him was a bit sleepy and tired from all of the day's business, not particularly helped by that lack of sleep. Alright, we just have to get in quickly and get out just as fast. He thought as he teleported from rooftop to rooftop. Maybe I should get everyone else in on this... I may just be over my head...