My Superhero City: Brand New Day

Talk, Shock, and Roll With Adrian Andrews

"Good morning, dear viewers! Another fine day, isn't it? Of course, we know it's anything but, don't we?"

An older man sat in a lounge chair in the middle of a studio. He was wearing a fine blue suit, and swept-back his long brown hair as he smiled at the camera. "Now, before we bring in our guest, I think there's something we should address, don't you? Namely the recent little incident that's got the Saint Foundation running around like a chicken with its head cut off."

The camera panned slightly right as a picture of a rather gruesome scene slowly came into view on the left. It was a snapshot of Supercity Square, covered in the corpses of fallen heroes, the streets splattered with blood. "Sorry sight, isn't it? Of course, that's what happens when you don't know what the bloody hell you're doing. Supposedly a rogue summoner or some nonsense attempted to summon the Dread Lord Golgoloth into our realm of existence, whatever that means. Of course, we know that's a load of bullocks, don't we? For all we know, that lout Professor Bozo was on another binge and couldn't hold his liquor. Which wouldn't be a problem for you or me, but for him? All I'm saying is maybe we shouldn't give the local drunk the keys to the Necronomicon. It's just common sense!"

He adjusted his tie as the picture changed, portraying the same scene from another angle. "But back to what the Foundation's trying to sell us. According to them, they managed to send a group of heroes to the scene, but they were just a bit too late. Which to me is more than a tad suspect. I mean, it's like saying you were 'too late' to stop a drug deal, or 'too late' to stop a terrorist attack planned in advance. If you knew what this bastard was up to, then why didn't you stop him already?!"

He paused for a brief moment, taking a moment to compose himself lest he loose his cool. Or at least that was how he played it. "But I digress. Long story short, they were able to stop him, but not before he already started the summoning. The result? A blast of energy unlike anything ever seen tore right through the heroes, shredding them to bits and sending their guts all over the pavement. Which, as I've been saying, wouldn't have happened if they already took care of it like they're supposed to!"

He took a deep breath, rubbing his brow before looking back at the audience. "Still, that's their story and they're sticking to it. As such, they've started a recruitment drive. Though if you ask me (and why wouldn't you), they're just using it as an excuse to build up their forces for a takeover. I don't think I'm the only one who's noticed that the Superhero community has been getting ever so more extreme over the last year. Granted, they're not quite as murder happy as they were a year ago, I'll admit, and it's far from mutually exclusive. But it's enough to make you wonder. I mean, it's not like there's that much we could do against them if it came to that, is it? Especially if they start conscripting any nonhuman with a grudge."

He took a brief drink of water from a nearby stool, though he made sure to keep his eye on the camera. "Though if you ask me, I still think they're pissy after the Guardians were arrested last year, which I'm not convinced we know the full story about. Part of me still thinks that was little more than a hoax meant to defuse tensions and prop up the Superhero community to high heaven, but hey, I've gone on that enough as it is. Still though. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Anyhoo, we're going to have just a quick commercial break before we bring in our guest, but remember. Be alert, be vigilant, and be safe. It's all anyone can ask for."

It had been a year since the Guardians stood down after their assault on Saint University last year. The result was something of a mixed bag. While the attack resulted in the press again accusing the school of negligence, the Guardian's unprovoked assault subsequently led to their movement losing steam. While their supporters still existed, they were less in number, and pushed for less violent and radical means of making their cause known. This also resulted in a lessening of tensions between them and the Purists, even if some of that remained.

On top of that, seeing the police and the Superhero community come together for a common cause helped increase their popularity among the public, which caused the more extreme elements that had been popping up to rethink their stance a bit. There were still more violent or proactive heroes running about, and if something wasn't done, things were only bound to go back to where they were a year ago. But for now, it was manageable. Still, life went on. As did the Foundation. Even after the Saint's death, the Foundation was dedicated to keeping the peace the world over, organizing heroes to help with natural disasters and counter threats that either didn't fall into the Protector's purview or that they were too busy to cover. That said, recently they had hit a bit of a snag. The Supercity branch's attempt to stop a rogue summoner while well-intentioned had gone horribly wrong, infamously so. As such, they were in desperate need of new recruits and had started a recruitment drive as a result. By now they had already gone through most of the applications, taking just about anyone they could get. And with how many members they had lost, they couldn't afford to be choosy.

As usual, orientation was held in the Lounge Room on the top. It was incredibly spacious, more than suited to accommodate the sheer number of recruits that filled it. Tables covered with appetizers and punch bowls were lined up along the back wall, while to the left and right were highrise windows that were more than tall enough for a truck to pass through. The room was so high up that you could see the entire city. In layman's terms, it was quite the view.

Aside from that, there were several rows of chairs close to the front of the room, probably to account for the sheer number of recruits that were joining up. The only thing that was missing was someone to start orientation. Until they got there, the recruits were left to do little more than graze and mingle. Which was probably the idea.

Paragon

Martin smiled as he took a seat, looking around for familiar faces in the crowd, wondering just how many of his old class would be coming to the recruitment drive. It had been a full year since the university had ended, but time had flown by, each day filled with some new fire to put out. Even as a solo operation he had managed to make great strides throughout the city, earning himself the ire of villains and not an insignificant amount of praise from the people. He even had an action figure out on the market! Well he had multiple action figures but only one of them had over fifty catch phrases recorded by him and kung-fu action grip. So he only had one action figure he directly cared about. All profits went toward Clay's 'Hero's Without Borders' project, essentially a collection of people who couldn't quite be true heros using their own unusual abilities for good all around the world. Along with getting married just half a year earlier he was probably one of the busiest men on the planet at the moment.

Martin had felt the urge to join, but his place really was out on the streets fighting the good fight. It was just as easy to call it an addiction as it was a drive to do the right things.

Oh, and he had grown a beard, it was a scraggly thing and clashed against his normally straight cut look. Mahvash kept trying to erase it from existence but he had managed to stay ahead of the curve. After all it was a good look, and she was the only one who seemed to want it removed. Everyone else had such smiling reactions to it after all!

Zach

Word traveled fast. So when Zach found out that there was gonna be this big, grand ceremony about inviting the new recruits to Saint Foundation, normally Zach wouldn't have cared.

And then he heard the majority of his class was said recruits, and, well, what else COULD he do than show up to pay respects and wish them the absolute best they could ever be? So, naturally, he shifted into something nice and wanted nothing more than to stop by, say hi and see how things were going.

Like a High School reunion but like...17 years too early.

Thankfully his mom was more then capable of babysitting Sophie, Mikoto and Saori, already two and being quite the handful but thanks to his mom's...shockingly good grasp on taking care of them, they were never really a bother, or a real threat. Yoko couldn't make it, which he didn't expect her to, given she was a Guardian of the Earth and needed to pace out her time carefully between family, duty and sleeping.

She sent her best wishes though, of course, it was only fair.

So Zach walked in and looked for any familiar faces he could find, smiling, nodding and gesturing to the few that passed by, several he didn't recognize.

...

Mason

This is it...THIS IS IT. This is your big moment. Here, this is where your start as a hero BEGINS. You have your Genesis Breaker. You have your SUIT. You have your big genius brain.

This...is where your new life BEGINS.

Mason mentally prepped himself as he stepped into the grand hall where all the chairs, and the snacks had been set up.

Yes, a feast fit for a GROUP OF NEWBIE HEROES.

He looked shockingly well maintained and his hair had actually been combed back properly (Save for this one little cowlick he could not fucking get rid of), and his suit looking halfway decent! His left arm still had the fabric wire mesh around it, as, well, with his last fight, it hadn't recovered fully and probably never would! So this was a nice little adjustment for the meantime. The new Genesis Breaker sat on his wrist and flashed lights every once in a while.

He took a seat and took a deep breath.

It's gonna be fine. You can do this. Just breathe.

He glanced off to the side, and what he saw made him go pale. His eyes shrank a little bit.

Oh no. Oh no no no no no. No n no what is SHE-

Octavius

The smell of ale was...obnoxiously prevalent as the newest recruit stepped inside with a little bit of a stumble. However, decades upon centuries had prepared him for this.

You didn't get drunk almost nightly for three hundred years and not learn how to walk with it.

So he did stumble but he righted himself very quickly, and took a quick look around.

Buncha really brightly colored tools was the first thing he thought of. But they had power. There was so much power running through the room he could fucking FEEL it. And that was impressive.

But they still looked like asses.

He walked by a large group of people, making 'those' eyes at the girls as he passed and gave a little chuckle as he bumped into a few more, until finally he found purchase in a seat. Kicking one foot up onto the back of it, he took another sip of his ale and let it dangle to the side.

"This'll be fun." He found himself mumbling aloud. "Can't believe they actually let me in."

Lily – Saint Foundation HQ

As was usual for her, Lily had to focus on keeping her breathing calm and her heart rate lowered lest she begin to have a panic attack. As much as she'd up her confidence over the past year, simple social anxiety still managed to rear its ugly head. Especially in as packed a room as this. Her small stature didn't exactly help. It was all she could do but loiter near the edge of the room, hoping to lessen the risk of her being trapped in the throng of recruits.

She was dressed in a simple white fighting gi, as was now necessary for her to do so. As she was now considered a fundamental combatant in the Aquatos clan, appropriate dress was mandatory. It was comfortable and practical, but she couldn't help but feel a little strange in it.

All the more reason to add to her anxiety, but she couldn't exactly dwell on it. There were more important things to worry about.

Holiday – Saint Foundation HQ

As opposed to Lily, Holiday did not seem to be at all bothered by the crowd, and had managed to slip through over to the window in order to gaze out. She was currently in the midst of taking pictures with her phone, only to put it away and simply stare out at the view. Partially so she could update her map. But also because it was nice to look at.

Most of Holiday's changes had been internal. Her shell had been revamped to appropriately age her aesthetically, and when combined with her bulkier chassis she was perhaps a few inches taller than she used to be. Her hands were clasped behind her back, but her right hand was missing at the wrist—Tom had scuttled up onto the ceiling as per her orders, and was currently observing the room and adding each face to her data banks. And informing her of familiar ones.

Lily she'd pegged onto, looking as uncomfortable as she expected. But she was off by her lonesome, and crowd was otherwise thick. It was difficult to get a proper facial scan on them.

Perhaps someone would approach her instead–

Ooh, wait. Martin.

“Good morning, Martin,” she greeted without turning around, before peeling herself away from the window and walking over to sit in the row behind him. “Nice beard! Very flattering.”

There was intention on her end for there to be a mischievous glint in her eye as she said that, but she was a robot, so it came across as genuine instead.

Whoops.

Tyulla – Saint Foundation HQ

By far one of the oddest people in the room was the nougat-coloured blob girl sitting casually in the air in one of the corners near the ceiling.

In a bizarre juxtaposition to her inhuman appearance, she was wearing a casual flannel shirt, jeans, and a pair of reading glasses. She had her legs crossed into a lotus position, back pressed against the wall as she slowly read through the book she was holding. An old novel, it seemed. Not identifiable from the cover alone though. The print was too small to see from such a distance.

Aside from her clothing and odd position (it did provide her with a good sense of privacy from the rest of the crowded room), the creature just looked plain weird. She had no hair, but had multiple tendrils that sprouted from her head and styled into something resembling a hairstyle instead. Her eyes were almond-shaped and had black sclera; her irises white rings that seemed to subtly glow in the shadows of the corner. All that and she had no discernible nose.

The creature kept to herself up until she felt Mason's horrified gaze on her, and she promptly clapped the book shut and hovered over to him. Dropping into the seat next to him, she paused momentarily to see if he was ever going to blink before crossing her legs and leaning back a fraction into her seat.

“Hi,” she began, flicking her eyes over to him again before returning them ahead to scan through the line of recruits. “I followed you. Are your eyes drying out yet?”

She was pretty sure a bug could fly into his mouth and out his ear and he wouldn't even notice. She inwardly chortled at the thought. Though she didn't understand why he was so surprised. She thought she'd made it clear that she got bored alone.

“They look funny,” she noted, nodding towards some of the nonhumans in the room. “That one looks like a fish thing I found. Small planet. Big population. But they had three eyes. Don't know why.”

If there was any tone of deeper understanding in her voice as to what she was doing there, it wasn't audible. It seemed like she had genuinely decided to follow him on a whim.

Cole - Squad 4

So. This was it then. After the scare last year there'd been remarkably little sign of his brother and Cole was good to just go on with his life. He didn't know how willing he was to well and truly step in to be a hero here, especially with how these things usually ended for him...but he had to try. Especially after what happened in the aftermath of the summoning incident.

He approached Lily, seeing her amidst the crowd, and he could almost feel her anxiety without even taking into account his psychic powers. Man, poor girl's being put under one hell of a spotlight...

As always, Cole was dressed in a shabby collection of clothes, a jacket and vest combo over a tight black shirt, tight jeans, and sneaker shoes. All the better to distinguish him.

"Hey Lily, how're you handling things?" He smiled and tried to show confidence.

Yeah, looked like this was bringing in some people Cole didn't recognize. Was that girl over there made of candy or something?

Saint Lad / Marky - Squad 1

The sound of skateboard wheels scraping against the ground. The wind in his hair...Marky loved the freedom that came with skateboarding. He had learned in the year since his release from the captivity of that creepy sphinx that he was somehow related to this superhero called The Saint. The superpowers didn't lie - he hit harder, could take a lot of hits, and moved fast. He found it all just so incredibly cool.

He'd done some light work on his own, but this would be his first venture into real supes stuff.

Marky was of course dressed in only the "best" of 90s fashion, replete with mullet; a baggy shirt that hid a surprisingly muscular physique, a plaid jacket, torn up jeans and sneakers with his favorite skater (Tony Hawk, who else?) on them.

In his perspective, it was only right to go and do like, righteous stuff with your powers when you realize you got em. So here he was - just getting off his board and looking at the feast that would mark the beginning of the careers of young heroes.

He started looking around for a good place to put his skateboard, he didn't wanna get done and find out someone nicked his board. Aww man, where to put this? I've poured my heart and soul into this board...

He eventually got referred to a good enough place, hoping he could come back to it when he got done.

Proceeding inside, he looked around, gobsmacked that there were just so incredibly many. He started ambling around like the kid he was, just chuckling and checking everything out.

He eventually found his way to Zach, and promptly showed his loud enthusiasm, "Duuuude! This crib is like, bangin'! Do you dudes do this often? Wow, look at all the food! Booyah!" This was the most food Marky had seen in his whole life, and so he was more than a little excited.

Demons

Mikael and Ellie remained in human guise for the recruitment, though they took no pains to hide the demonic energy that radiated from them, nor the crimson eyes that easily gave them away. Any new teammates they might meet would have to get used to them being demons anyway, so there was no need to pretend otherwise.

Both were dressed in casual clothes, with Mikael having his familiar fur coat on.

On their hands were rings of what looked like bone, which glittered and reflected light.

As the demon couple entered, they shared a quick parting kiss, before splitting off to greet their old friends.

Just as Marky finished speaking, Ellie scooped Zach up from behind in a wide hug.

"Zach!" She almost squealed. "It's so good to see you again! I can't believe you're going back to hero stuff."

She set him down, and then turned to Marky, as though only just realizing he was there. "Oh, hi new guy. I'm Ellie. Nice to see new people here."

She offered a handshake, which highlighted the ring on her finger for Zach to see. "So are you like, a skateboard-themed hero?"

"If by 'flattering' you mean 'makes you look homeless', then I'd concur." Mikael interjected, placing a hand on Martin's shoulder from behind. Martin would note the obvious ring on his finger. "I kid. Hello Holiday, Martin. Good to see you."

He dropped his hand and walked around, giving Martin's beard an amused look. "Seriously though, did Mahvash dump you for Dante or something? Because I can't imagine her letting you keep that."

The rat-girl entered calmly, looking almost meek at the number of people gathered. But an astute observer would note no nervousness in her look or step. It was caution, not fear, that tempered her movements.

Dressed in casual yoga pants and a midriff-revealing top, barefoot - as her kind always were, given the difficulty of finding shoes for large, three toed feet - with rings around her wrists, ankles, and the end of her tail. The rings seemed like mere accessories, giving no hint to the blades concealed within.

She eyed the gathered heroes a moment, silently gauging them. The first to catch her eye was the drunkard, who sent a shiver of primal revulsion up her spine. Whether from his stench or his gaudy outfit, she couldn't tell.

The second was the girl in the gi. Something about her resonated with Nariko, who assumed Lily was a fellow martial artist. Something about the girl's presence was calm, serene. Worth talking to.

(A more base part of her mind suggested that she simply found the girl attractive, but Nariko did not think herself that shallow.)

So she strode over to Lily and sat next to her. This process took a fraction of a second - so quick that only a blur and a faint rush of wind gave away that Nariko wasn't teleporting.

"Greetings." She said, and then immediately realized her error. Not only had she instinctively used her power, she'd also interrupted Cole. She bowed in her seat. "Ah, my apologies. I noted from your gi you were a fellow martial artist, and I suppose I was over-eager to talk to you. I did not mean to intrude."

The Carnival Prince – Saint Foundation HQ – Lounge Room

Dante entered the room with a timid look on his face.

Dante, during the last year, managed to gather his old classmates, with the help of Mr. Kariuki and Mr. Dias, and profoundly apologize to them. It was lengthy and a bit dramatic like a play, but the genuinity from each word that was said from him was still pretty noticeable.

He'd hoped that they would forgive for what he'd done, even if that would have taken a while...

Dante looked around the room, trying to find a seat, looking a bit awkward. There were some familiar faces, but the jester decided to sit next to the first ones he would recognize.

And those faces were Martin and Holiday.

"He-Hey, Martin and Holiday!", he friendly waved at the paragon and the ACP unit as he approached them.

"How are you doing?", he took a seat, trying to look as friendly as possible.

Dante, afterwards, has noticed a peculiar detail on Martin: it was on his chin, and it was pretty hairy.

"O-Oooohh...", the Carnival Prince bashfully stared at Martin's beard for a split-second before looking at this face, trying to remain friendly, "I-I see you got a beard!", he commented.

Gosh, that...that really looks so cursed on him, doesn't it?

During that thought, he (unfortunately) heard Mikael's remark. "H-Hey!", he pouted with a faint blush.

Phaeton – Saint Foundation HQ – Lounge Room

It was time....time to reunite!

Iuvem entered the room, looking tranquil, so that he wouldn't really look intimidating with his eight feet of height and cartoonishly monstrous appearance. Maybe he would. And maybe that would be beneficial to him. But whatever...he would have any reason to look intimidating.

Like, he got this businessman look on him, with the dapper suit 'n tie and everything. It also bore ETHEL's logo: a neat, stylized depiction of a cyan, double-rings planet, whose rings were diagonally tilted. The outfit of his would give the golem a charmingly organized vibe, not an intimidating one...he thinks....

Anyways, Iuvem, as he took a seat, quickly glanced at Dante.

...hopefully what we did a few months ago will result in a happy ending...

Mari-Mira – Saint Foundation HQ – Lounge Room

OH. EM. GEE.

Marisa was so excited that she felt like she could explode. This was the day that would mark the start of a definitely successful career/publicity stunt.

"Oh yeah! Time for the grand entrance!", A loud and hammy feminine voice could be heard.

A girl stylishly frontflipped into the scene, doing an equally stylish landing pose afterwards. The girl wore a shoulder-revealing blouse/top, a pair jean-like shorts and sneakers that shined like a diamond. She seems to have put a considerable amount of make-up. She also wore some rings on the index finger of her left hand and a fashionable, out of this world, bracelet on her right wrist. She basically looked like a upper-class model.

"Konnichiwuuh!", she rapidly waved. Her accent was the quirky lovechild of a Valley Girl accent and a Japanese accent.

Marisa then made a short twirl before making a Kawaiiko pose, making a victory sign with her right hand and putting around her right, winking eye.

"Mari-Mira here!", Mari bubbily spoke, as she looked like she expected the others to recognize her.

There would be a possibility that one of these heroes could be one of her fans...right??????

Edited by Theyja on Aug 11th 2019 at 1:43:01 PM

Lily – Saint Foundation HQ

“I'm... okay...” Lily muttered, shifting uncomfortably as she kept her gaze wandering everywhere but on Cole. “Just... a lot of people... that's all... I-I'll be fine.”

Lily near jumped out of her skin at that, but she managed to suppress both the startled yelp that threatened to tear out of her throat and the instinctual urge to strike the throat of the rat-person who had suddenly appeared beside them in a blur of speed. As her shock subsided, she could only blink confusedly as the humanoid rat (who apparently spoke in a familiarly refined manner) apologized for her inadvertent interruption, and it was only as she mentioned she was a martial artist that she snapped out of her daze and offered her a reassuring smile.

“It's okay. I'm Lily. I uh... didn't expect to see another martial artist either,” she admitted, politely outstretching her hand to shake. “But um... yeah. I didn't know there were rat martial artists... though that might me my fault. My clan doesn't... well they keep to themselves, so I don't know much about any others anyhow...”

She's fast though. Scary fast, she noted. I don't know if I could keep up with that. I'd have to extend my range out wide... even if I predicted her movements, I'd have to be just as fast just to get out of the way... even faster to counter it...

Her choice in attire was a little embarrassing for her, but she managed to remain composed. She suddenly felt very grateful for the fact that her gi wasn't as exposed. She supposed there had to be some practical reason for it though.

Like distracting her enemies as she cracks them in the skull, she dully thought.

Holiday – Saint Foundation HQ

“Hello Dante. Morning, Mikael. See? They agree with me. Doesn't Dante sound so enthused?” she ribbed at Martin, the chortle in her voice now evident as her gaze lingered on the ring on the half-demon's finger. Interesting. “Lot of new faces here. That's good to see. Considering... circumstances...”

Her expression turned grim as her memory turned to the reports that had brought them here in the first place, but she shook it off. They had to stay focused on the future, not dwell on the past. It was a horrific event, but moving on from it was necessary. Especially considering the crucial nature of their job.

“Take that... explosive personality, for instance...” she pointed, momentarily diverting her attention to ‘Mari-Mira’ and rubbing her ear due to the piercing nature of her voice. “Excellent secret weapon in the case of a villain attack. We could plant her in a suitably tactical location with a megaphone, evacuate the city, and get her to scream them to death.”

Edited by Enirboreh on Aug 10th 2019 at 8:22:32 PM

Saint Lad - Squad 1

Marky definitely appreciated a hottie showing up, and he flushed a little and tried to answer. He remembered what he was told, and everything that happened so far... "Uh...skateboard themed hero? Nah, apparently I somehow ended up with the great powers of The Saint. So...uh, call me Saint Lad!" He beamed - as if coming up with that name made him feel proud of himself.

That was when a loud grumbling noise came from the boy's stomach, "And now uh...I gotta chow. See ya round, chica. Chill and be excellent!" And with that he ran off to go get many large servings of the food.

Cole - Squad 4

Cole turned to look at the interruptor and noted two things about her. One, she was not someone from the class. Two, she was a Nezumi - a rat-based nonhuman. He'd heard about these kinds of nonhumans, and in some sectors they were apparently looked down upon by other nonhumans. Even though the introduction had been rather sudden, he hoped that kind of thing wouldn't follow her here.

California was nice, but it was still a place in the world at large - and nowhere was exempt from the petty meanness of prejudice.

"I'm guessing you're new here. Welcome to Super City. Name's Cole."

He was glad Lily managed to introduce herself. Poor girl seemed really anxious out here.

Edited by NickTheSwing on Aug 10th 2019 at 12:24:11 PM

Lounge Room

Two nearly identical young women walked through the doors into the lounge room. Or at least they would have been nearly identical had one not been covered in an ample layer of grime. As it was it was hard to mistake the two.

"I cannot believe you wore sweatpants, Ren."

"What? They're comfy!"

"You wore sweatpants. To a job orientation."

"Oh, like those nasty jeans of yours are any better, Bec."

"You know I can't help that!"

"I'm not talking about the dirt. I'm talking about the rips. And the frays."

"... shut up."

Rebecca was excited. This was her first time back in Super City since, well, high school, and she was already seeing plenty of familiar faces.

And then a girl fucking frontflipped through the door, and Rebecca couldn't help but stare. That certainly wasn't a familiar face.

Renée was wondering why she was here. She'd seen the news report and still signed on for such a dangerous job. It went against all of her common sense. But she knew the reason. She couldn't stand the idea that her sister might get hurt while she wasn't there for her.

She scanned the crowd. There were some real interesting people here... hello.

Renée immediately walked up to the world's biggest fashion disaster.

"Dude, you look like the 90s puked all over you." she stated, trying not to laugh (and failing). "and did you seriously just say 'booyah'?" And then she was full on chortling.

Edited by PossiblyQuiteInsane on Aug 10th 2019 at 3:39:10 PM

Saint Lad - Squad 1

Marky looked over at her completely confused for a moment, his mouth full of steak and well cooked salmon. He tried to pout at her even through his mouth of food, and eventually managed to swallow it - replying to her laughter at him, "Hey hey hey, what's wrong with the 90s? And yeah I did say booyah, because this..."

He gestured at the plates in front of him full of food.

"...Is the most food I've seen...like, ever. Don't exactly got much cheddar myself. Never got to have feasts like this."

He seemed to look down...and then immediately perked back up in time to wave at some passersby and keep eating. Never get super down. Gotta keep myself aiight. Nobody's helped by bein' a downer.

Iona - Saint Foundation HQ Lounge

Iona quietly floated into the room, cape fluttering in the draftless room. It was a rather mixed affair of emotions to be back in the city that, just a few years ago, she had been protecting from Gaea.

"How swiftly time flies. Betrays the senses almost."

She had listened to the whispers of fate calling her back, puzzled but not willing to argue with the powers beyond her. Heroism never seemed to fit, but something just felt right about signing up. Perhaps there was a plan in the cosmos after all. But...first things first.

"I wonder..."

Her eyes wandered around the room, looking for familiar faces in the hopes of seeing someone from back at the Academy.

Mikael and Ellie are here, there's Dante, Zach...Iuvem...

A slight twitch gave way to a smile. Some of them were still around, bless the Lords. Hopefully more would show up soon.

"Coming back seems to have been a good idea so far."

Ya know Io, it wouldn't hurt to talk to them.

Bellpepper's voice in her mind from beyond the veil that separated this world and the Planes, meaning that when she shook her head, it seemed to be at nothing.

"No, Bell, I don't...I don't think that's the best idea for now. I wasn't exactly the nicest person all those years ago. I wonder if they'd even remember us, much less if they'd remember me fondly."

A stinging twinge brought her to wince. That last day, the attack from Gaea, her decision to leave...it was a grand epiphany all cascading down from the events of her time. Her behavior back then still weighed on her shoulders, regrets whose chains could not be undone.

"But...if they happen to approach us, it'll be good to catch up."

With that said, Iona took a seat near the front, crossing one leg over the other as she idled away the moments for now.

Mari–Mira – Saint Foundation HQ – Lounge Room

It's nice to see that she managed to get the heart of that oldschool-looking guy. Mari doesn't seem like it, but she's good observer.

I'm already making some baby steps!, she excitedly thought.

However, someone here is already trash-talking, aren't they?

"Huhuhuhuhu...", she giggled, with a hand over her mouth.

"Very bold of you to assume that I would gladly take that role, robot gal...", she then hammily put a hand over her chest, "It is not flashy enough. Maybe an espionage-slash-sabotage role would be fitting for an opulent hero like me..."

Mari reached into her left pocket to pull out an iPhone X, which had an appropriately diamond-coated cover. She then raised it a bit upwards and—

Snap

She took a nice selfie. Mari would have then posted it on a social network. But there was something that ruined her masterpiece. That...hygenic abomination of a girl was staring at her like an idiot.

"Uuuuuuuh...", she turned towards Rebecca, "Can you, like, move? I'm trying to take a selfie, y'know. It's a big, big deal...my fans wouldn't get their daily Mira-Selfie...", Mari tried to not look mean as she said that, though a slight hint of condescension was present.

Edited by Theyja on Aug 10th 2019 at 10:12:09 AM

Rebecca

"Um... okay?" Rebecca obligingly moved out of the camera's way. Was this girl on something? She'd shown up at what was technically a job orientation, done a flip, shouted her name for all to hear, and then rambled about selfies. It was very unprofessional and bizarre. Still, she would be working with this "Mari-Mira" person, so it was best to play nice.

"I'm Rebecca by the way. And this is my sister... oh. She's gone. Dammit Renée. In any case, it's nice to meet you."

She would have extended her hand for a handshake, but she had a feeling that wouldn't go over well.

Renée

Renée managed to regain control of herself and stopped laughing. Mostly.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just, it isn't every day you meet someone with such a... unique fashion sense. Then again, if Becca's stories have told me anything, it's that supers are a weird lot."

Wilma (1)

Wilma flounced into the room with all the enthusiasm she could muster, humming a jaunty tune. "Woah, a pirate!" she noted as she laid eyes on Octavius.

"Lily, you found a friend! Good for you!" she cheered from across the room at the hydrokinetic.

"Hey, everyone! It's me, Wilma! I'm so happy to see you guys again!" the Inspired girl waved enthusiastically at nearly everyone she saw. "It looks like the plot is thickening again, but your favorite story-mancer has got your backs!"

Aster (2)

"Rebecca, dear," spoke the possessed girl from the sides of the room. "Pay no attention to the vain. Gold is only best used as an ornament and nothing else. Even dull metal has more uses."

"Come over and try my mushroom soup. I made it fresh this morning," Aster said warmly. And indeed, she was one of the caterers for this event.

Jumping Bean (3)

"There's three of us martial arts practitioners!" shouted Jumping Bean bombastically as she made her way over to Lily and Nariko. "Oh, sorry, I'm shouting again. I'm Jumping Bean."

The Xian was dressed in simple Taoist robes, but her shoes gave away that she also practiced martial arts alongside her magic.

Perry (4)

"Pirate! Pirate!" chanted Perry as she nearly bowled over Octavius in her rush to inspect him. "Are you a ghost pirate? No, you too solid. But you feel like a dead guy..."

"I be Perry, a spirit medium," she said, introducing herself. "Who you be? Where your ship?"

Edited by JumpingFruit on Aug 10th 2019 at 1:58:45 AM

Saint Lad - Squad 1

Marky by now had bounced back wholly from the momentary negativity and smiled at Renee broadly, finishing up his meal by this point. "It's all good, I get a lotta looks from people - guess they were just kinda fussed about my look." He started looking around the area. Looked like more people were showing up.

He then looked back at Renee, "So I'm guessing you're here for the hero thing...man, everybody here seems funky fresh..."

Paragon

Martin smiled as Holiday approached, even with some of the run ins it was impossible to have met with everyone in the class over the year. And she was certainly a sight for sore eyes. "Looks like you got some upgrades too!" it felt nice to be vindicated for a moment on his choice of facial hair, but then of course...

"A pleasure as always Mikeal, glad you were able to make it," his eyes traced to the ring and a small frown came over his face. He hadn't heard that Mikeal and Ellie were getting married, or he hadn't been invited at the least. That stung a little, but he was also happy for his friend. "And Mahvash and I are still going strong, we celebrated our two year anniversary not to long ago. Which means you need to pay up on the 'when will Martin and Mahvash' break up betting pool." he wasn't sure something like that had actually existed in the class, but given how they were no doubt it had been commented on. "And the beard is cool, it was trending not a week ago." of course not in a positive direction, but he had never had time to check.

Dante was a...more complicated matter. He knew what had happened, knew that Dante had sought help for everything and that things were better now. Still out of everyone in the old team he hadn't really gone out of his way to meet up with the Carnival King. Still send the Christmas cards and such of course, but felt a bit bad. "Its good to see you, fighting crime hasn't been the same when you weren't there to lighten the mood."

He pulled the three in for quick hugs, it was good to be back among friends and classmates.

Snow Leopard, Squad 1

It's a strange thing, really. Coming back here after all that time, taking the time to watch everything, a strange cold wind and the sound of a saxophone filled the air, as something moved without being seen.

The year has been strange, like things have moved very quickly and very slowly, including a fight against the man that injured his dad, some treatment and somehow practicing some music to wind down. But in the end, he felt like there was a lot happening around him, and he needed to adapt, and change himself.

So, as a white haired figure made himself visible as he kept playing the instrument for a second, and put it on its case, and turning to the others.

"Guess it's a hello" Sam said, looking a bit sheepish.

Green Dragon I.W

Arriving on a gust of wind and running boy was kind of panicking as he nearly crashed as he arrived, running off trying to find a friend.

Going on crazy adventure or another and trying to finding out more of himself, he was quite busy on these times.

Still, it's the feeling of the wind that could calm him down sometimes, if he doesn't talk to those close to him.

Once he saw some familiar faces, he let Sorano manifest a small dragon and said...

"Hello, everybody!" Ryuu was in the scene!

Mari-Mira – Saint Foundation HQ – Lounge Room

"Hello, Reh-becc...uh...", the rich girl stared at her hand, puzzled.

What will she do? Shake the unholy hand of Grime Girl and then wash her hand for lots and lots of hours, which is an absolute pain...or just refuse? Gosh, this is the most difficult choice of her life!

Oh my. She entered this room, like, one minute ago, and two girls are already grilling her like some barbecue.

...Is it because they're jealous of her or something?

"Hmph...", Mari narrowed her eyes, staring at Aster, "Well, my lucky charm is better than gold. Heck. My lucky charm is better than any jewel and metal in this planet....", she "clarified" in a peeved and somewhat cold tone.

"It truly is out of this world...", with those calm and cryptic last words, Mari just strutted away from the two girls, trying to find a seat that would be isolated from the rest of the room.

Edited by Theyja on Aug 10th 2019 at 11:34:09 AM

Rebecca

Rebecca came to a decision as Mari-Mira stalked off muttering cryptic nonsense. That girl was definitely high.

On a more pleasant note, she turned to her possessed friend... well, one of her possessed friends.

"It's good to see you, Aster! And I'd love to try your soup!"

As soon as Rebecca had a bowl of said soup in hand, she resumed talking.

"So, I'd introduce you to my twin sister, but I seem to have lost her already. Why is she like this? Anywho, what've you been up to these past couple years?" Slurp "Oh, this is good."

Renée

"Fun... funky fre… BWAHAHAHA!" Renée took a second to calm down again, wiping a tear from her eye. "S-sorry again. Couldn't help it. Yeah, I'm here for the hero thing." She thought a minute. "Well... don't tell her I said this, but I'm more here to keep my little sister safe. Which is stupid, I know it's stupid, she's the one with the powers... but still, you know how things are nowadays."

Mikael

Mikael actually laughed. "Wow, I am liking this new you, Holiday." He turn and waved at his fellow half-demon. "And hey, Dante. Didn't mean to poke fun at you. Just at Martin's beard."

Then Martin pulled them into a group hug, though Mikael noted the small frown that creased his face.

"Heh." He wiggled his fingers, showing off his ring. "Me and Ellie are up to six months, now. Never did an actual ceremony. We didn't want a big wedding anyway, so we were just gonna invite everyone to a little get-together instead. But then when we were working out our honeymoon, Ellie figured out you can Airbnb an entire castle, and we kinda... forgot."

He shrugged. "So Ellie just decided to surprise people in person the next time we met. And here we are. So... surprise."

His eyes flicked over to the loudmouth girl with the phone for a moment. Oh great, an instagram model. Swear to god, she better not end up on my team...

She smiled softly at the introductions, and as Jumping Bean appeared.

"I am Nariko Hattori, descendant of the Nezumi Ninja Clan. It's a pleasure to meet you all. You may call me 'Nari' if you wish. Most do." She grasped Lily's hand with her own. The feeling of skin against her fur was strangely pleasant. "What clan do you hail from, may I ask? I know quite a few other ninja and warrior clans, as I enjoy learning about other fighting styles. Martial arts is something of a passion of mine."

She noted Lily's gaze linger on her bare stomach for a moment, and suppressed another smile. She wrapped her tail around her stomach, like a fuzzy belt, to keep it from twitching in excitement. The smooth metal of her tail-ring felt nice and cool against her belly.

Holiday – Saint Foundation HQ

Holiday gave Mikael a cheery smile.

“Heh. Thanks. I'm quite liking me myself– oof!”

Holiday made a mental note not to keep her pain receptors on when Martin was in the room, as despite him not doing any *actual* damage her computerized brain simulated the correct response. Which felt like enough to inflict a massive bruise all across her ribs. Which didn't exist.

In some ways, it was rather impressive. So she quietly disabled her artificial nervous system.

"So you tried to... an entire castle?” Holiday said, confused as she cocked her head to one side and listened to his explanation. “That... hmm. Lot of guests, then. What did you even do– ohhhhh.”

She shook her head with a grimace, before shifting in her seat and drawing her legs up to cross into a lotus position.

“I admit it's not that much a surprise, but it's still sweet. You've effectively been married anyway all this time, but it's nice to see it's official now. Congratulations!”

Lily – Saint Foundation HQ

“The um... the Aquatos clan...” Lily replied in a hesitant tone, briefly frowning to herself due to not recognizing the name of her clan. Odd. It felt like she should've known about a family of rat-based ninjas (or ninja-based rats) but there was not a shred of information in her memory about them. Which was honestly a terrifying oversight. Either the Aquatos didn't know/care to know, or they were simply that good.

She suppressed a shudder at the thought, and then carried on. At least the other had covered up her stomach now. It was starting to get a little distracting.

“But... yeah. I mostly know hand to hand, but it's all to do with hydrokinesis... I-I'll be honest I've never actually met a ninja anything before. Are you all that fast?”

Sam... has arrived. Despite her distraction the ringing tones of the saxophone were registered by her ears. Almost subconsciously, she let a water whip form from behind her back. It stretched out towards the cryokinetic; lightly tapping his hand before slipping a small lily into it.

Because of course it did.

Lily herself didn't make any comment or even dare look in his direction, but her brightly burning ears spoke everything.

Saint Lad - Squad 1

Marky did not really mind the laughter by now - he was entirely positive on this group of heroes so far. Lots of the people here seemed nice, and the girls...shwing! He didn't really blame Renee for wanting to protect her sister. Superhero stuff was a mad dangerous biz, and people got hurt. Just look at what happened in that summoning!

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna gank your secret and spill to your sis. Uhh, how's this whole thing gonna go? I mean, are we gonna be in like teams or some shiznit like that?"

Zach

He heard the excitement, and then the squeal a moment later. He was lifted off his feet and knew that incredibly scary strength could only come from one source.

Ellie! It was hard to show excitement in the written sense but he tried to make it work with the blatantly massive grin on his face. Oh, it's so good to see you! It's been way too long!

He'd have hugged her if he could, but he had a distinct feeling he'd be suffering Marshmallow Hell something fierce. He just accepted it and began to explain that he wasn't here for the whole "Superhero" thing anymore when...Saint Lad chose to exist at that exact moment.

And by god, he was given a very loving reminder why he was happy to have missed a good chunk of the 90's in a few simple sentences. He could only watch in quiet, judgemental silence as Saint Lad...existed. He prattled and talked and actually had a fucking skateboard-

And then he was gone. He was gone and he was here and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Wow. Squad 1's really gotten... A pause. Colorful.

But he had more pressing matters to attend to...namely...

Mikael finally proposed!? He wrote, turning to her with a big, wide smile. Congratulations, it's about time! He only half joked.

Mason

Reality snapped back into position for Mason as he shook his head and blinked his eyes a few times. Almost like he was trying to will this away as some kind of post-slumber delusion but it was not to be, she was here and...in public, and reading a book and-

"Tyulla." He said after a pause, as he leaned foroward, looking between everyone and gulping very quietly. "Do you remember what we talked about earlier? How you wouldn't show up in public because we're still working on a way to help lower your destructive capabilities without the need of a bracelet because it was still in the experimentation phase?"

A pause, and he took a deep breath.

"THIS IS PUBLIC TYULLA. AND YOU'RE IN IT."

Octavius

"Oof."

The sudden attack glomp of the little girl was quick to catch his attention, but his sea legs was enough to keep him sitting in his position. He adjusted his cap and looked down at her.

Every part of him wanted to tell her to piss off and go bother someone else. But....dammit. He wasn't even here a DAY and he couldn't even be mean to her. She seemed too innocent.

So much for being a fucking pirate.

"Technically? I ain't alive but I ain't dead neither. Somethin' in between." He gestured off to the side. "I'm kind of a mix. I guess. I dunno, too drunk to try to think of the details right now."

He took another swig of ale. "Octavius Klint. Call me Klint if you gotta. And it's near me. All times. If I summon it now I could kill us." He paused. "So I won't. Not yet anyway. Pleasure to meet you, Perry." he grinned. "First happy face around here that ain't giving me the stink eye."

Edited by MichaelDj54 on Aug 10th 2019 at 5:51:56 AM

Tyulla – Saint Foundation HQ

“And you're loud,” Tyulla retorted, not missing a beat as the mass of tendrils atop her head seemed to shrink away in discomfort at the heightened tone. “I was bored. And I can control myself. We've been okay so far, so why not?”

She blinked for a moment, as if considering her own logic—before nodding in satisfaction. Seeming to realise something, she suddenly raised her wrist for him to see.

“And I put the bracelet on. It won't come off. It's itchy. And annoying.”

He's really upset about this, she observed, scratching at the edges of the prototypical device with her nails. I wonder why. It's not like I've blown anything big up since I got here.

Tyulla didn't count the many microwaves, televisions, ceilings, and setis (she had a cold) she had in fact blown up in various forms and fashions, but it was otherwise true.