Heroes Challenge

[GameOfChampions]

The PRT HQ is drenched in sunlight as the director comes to meet all of you as you wait in the lobby. Though some of you had been in the city for a while this was the first time you were here in an official capacity as the new heroes for the city. Director Sanderson is waiting and as soon as everyone has gathered she gestures to the door and takes you into the main building. As she starts to take you through the building she gives everyone a brief rundown of what’s been going on.

“It’s nice to meet you all and I’m glad you’re here, the city has been without its heroes for a little too long and we’re starting to feel the effects. Several of the more prominent gangs are trying to expand their territory and others have taken this opportunity to start shipping in large amounts of… well everything really. Drugs, Weapons, tech, etc. etc. I’ll show you around and then let you get settled somewhat before you start.”

She walks you through the PRT floor that is full of the various departments that help keep the HQ and team running as she explains.

“The Shining Path and Panthers Fang have been going at hammer and tongs while the Rock Wreckers have been trying to also get a piece of the action. There have been several corporate sabotages and takeovers that we have attributed to the Elite, though lack any proof regarding it. However most worryingly is that we’ve lost sight of Insight, the rogue who started this whole debacle.”

Director Sanderson takes the impromptu tour through the labs and vehicle garage then down through the gym and training centers before ending it in the hero’s bull pen full of their various cubicles and general meeting area with the computerized control center.

“Frankly we need to establish a solid presence in the city and have you do some good so that the various groups know we’re back in the fight. The press are chomping at the bit for a press conference but I’m going to delay that until we have something more solid to present and the PR department believe that the extended wait before introducing you will raise interest for our mysterious new heroes. So I’ll leave you to be acquainted with ea-“

The older women pauses as she puts her hand up against her ear to better hear whatever message she was receiving from it. Her face grows paler and paler as she starts to bark orders into the earpiece.

“Take it to the lab and put through the standard checks NOW! Lock down the building and I want stranger protocols in effect this second! Call Captain Reynolds and put the squads on standby!”

She quickly turns to the group of heroes “Sorry You’ll have to do introductions on the fly, front desk reported that someone just dropped off a gift basket for the new team of heroes but when they looked at it they saw it was from Insight. I had it sent to the lab to test it so that’s where we’re going.”

The director gestures imperiously and starts walking briskly towards the labs she had shown you shortly before. The second she arrives she is handed the card that insight had sent and one of her eyebrows starts to twitch as she reads it out loud to everyone.

“Dear Hero team.
I don’t want to be on bad terms anymore, I’m sorry for whats happened and want to make amends. Will you please take me back? Let’s meet up and talk this out, I’ll be at 1139 Myron street in the docks at 1:30.

P.S I hope you guys like the little treats I sent.”

As she hands over the card you can all see the cover as a giant anime kitten with overly large eyes saying I’m sorry on the front. As everyone takes a look the director pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs noisily.

“I was hoping he wouldn’t know you guys were here for a while but that didn’t work obviously. Look I can’t tell you what to do in this situation since it could involve danger to your civilian identities but it looks like you have four hours to figure it out so talk among yourselves and figure out a game plan fast so we can get started.”

She gives a dry humorless laugh and says sarcastically. “Who knows maybe he really does want to make amends.”

[PatchesTheHyena]

Patches looked startled, and as it dawned on him his face slowly turned to terror. Had he forgot it? It wasn't likely that he started a day without his essentials. Patches gauged the temperature of the room as he patted himself down. With a soft thud of his jacket, his heart calmed.

“How to approach this...” he thought aloud, as he began to pace the room.

The second his back was turned to the group he knew it was his moment. His casual pacing and cleaver positioning had led him to the opportunity he was looking for. With an almost effortless movement Patches subtly removed his flask from his inner pocket. Years of practice had made this once surgical procedure, almost organic in nature. In a second he felt the relief of liquid ecstasy glide down his throat. He breathed in a small breath and mouthed the name. Laphroaig.

As quickly as he had drawn it, he sheathed his flask and turned to face his newly assigned group.

“This is very serious” he stated in a cool and clear manor, looking at the group from just under his brim, “We can't appear weak or afraid”. Then looking directly at the director with a smirk he continued “We are protectors of 'justice' and 'peace' and 'happiness' and 'all things nice', isn't that right director?”
“That is what the brochure said, I swear” he murmured to himself as he began to inspect the contraption on his arm, acting as if the reaction or response of the director was inconsequential.

“Oracle” he paused, as the screen on his arm came alive with movement and colors, “1139 Myron street, everything about it”

“This will only take a moment” he reassured the rest, “please continue without me for the time being”

[n0ble]

Yuri gave his protein shake a sharp slurp that caused the last of it's contents to burble in a wet sound. He aimed it for the nearest trash can before arcing it just a touch too high. It dinged off the the top before skidding in a lazy spin to the left. "Ah Jeez." Way to go loser. Now Gravity Girl and Echo are going to think you litter or something. He gave a nervous smile before awkwardly hobbling over to the cup. As he reached it Yuri braced his left side on his cane before leaning down in an exaggerated slowness to pick up and deposits the slurpy cup. There was a slight tightness on his right from where he'd broken a rib but otherwise it was without pain.

It was only when he'd gotten back up from bending over that he realized how much his leg was stinging. Blyad'*. Please let there be a seat somewhere. Ah there we are His nervous gaze took in a seat just next to Apex. Act cool act cool act cool. Just a teammate. She just a teammate. Yuri loped his way over to the seat, taking his sweat time. As he reached it he lowered himself down with the same deliberate slowness that he'd done before. As his postierier hit the seat he let out a sigh that was one part exhalation, one part accomplishment and all relief. My favourite hero is the man who made things to sit in.

He didn't really feel like talking on a good day, still hadn't gotten used to having a computer monitor as a shield or talking to someone who wasn't his mom. So instead he waited for patches to come up with anything that might be helpful and that he could add to.


* Russian for F!ck

[PatchesTheHyena]

Patches tilted his head further down, trying to obscure his gaze with his hat. He sighed as he watched Yuri toss, fail, then continue to retrieve and throw out his cup. He tried not to notice the discomfort he appeared to be in, it was making him feel like ****. Patches was aware of Yuri's condition, the director had briefed him on it when informing him on the team. He looked back down at his wrist.

"Well if I give it some more time, I suppose i'll have better results", Patches rationalized internally as he started to walk towards Yuri, who was now in a seat.
"Just don't make this kid feel like a charity case, and definitely don't make him think you care too much"

"Hey, you mind if I sit?" Patches asked Yuri as he grabbed a chair and sat beside him, not even waiting for a response.
"You're not the only one new to this, so don't look so skittish..." Patches blanked for a second, he tried to quickly get back to his train of thought, make this kid feel comfortable.
"We're all a team, you know? Family or whatever peppy terms these suits will throw at you."

Patches tilted his head and looked at Yuri for the first time since he began to greet him.

"You know, I don't know why you've joined, but I think it's some real **** that these suits are willing to throw someone of your condition into the streets to fight their causes. I don't think it's morally right."

[n0ble]

"Uh no, no n-not at all. Please-" He made to get up and offer his seat before noticing the other chair next to his. Ah. Nerves. His leg was tingling a little bit as Patches sat down next to him. Everyone here knew about his predicament but that didn't make it any easier. The real kicker was when Patches said he wasn't the only one new to this. It was true in more than one way. It wasn't just the super heroics or being close to capes he'd grown up watching Like Gravity Girl. Yuri had rarely ventured outside his apartment for most of his life, beyond the odd furtive trips to the store or to the pool for physiotherapy. All of the outside was new for him, more or less.

He weathered the conversation in silence, before perking up a bit at the mention of family and why he joined. He stretched his leg out till the knee clicked into place. "Aheh. In their defence those suits have a way better health plan than any other group in the city could probably provide." he accompanied the statement with the very lightest of taps on his foot with the cane, along with a lopsided smile. "Plus I mean, I've more or less spent my whole life in this position," he did a languid sweeping gesture that took in his entire body, "Sitting down, I mean. Might as well give a bit back while I can right?" No telling when it could go stage two. Now that he was speaking more than two words a faint eastern european accent was slipping into speech. As he noticed it Yuri trailed off. One more thing to be self conscious about.

[Rofltrollcopter]

A man towering over most of the group followed closely behind the director as they moved. He was dressed in a weathered suit, and his right arm was a prosthetic made of flesh-toned plastic. He couldn't stop himself from rubbernecking at the various sights in the PRT headquarters. What have you gotten yourself into?

We can't allow what Insight did to go unanswered. Revealing the identity of Protectorate Heroes is a crime, and we have an obligation to bring criminals to justice. We should use this opportunity to bring him down. Director Maam He fumbled with the Director's title awkwardly, and it was clear that he wasn't used to a formal setting like this. Behind his stated desire to bring a criminal to justice, there was another unspoken fear. The concept of having his identity revealed scared Robert. He didn't want his family to become a target.

He looked concerned as Yuri sat down. You alright there? But he didn't press the matter further then that. He could tell that Yuri was somewhat embarrassed, and he didn't want to draw too much attention to him.

[Writtensanity]

"Why not meet him?" Vicky asked from the back of the group, she'd been a touch distracted during the tour, trying to figure out everything that had changed within the base. It had been a long time since she'd been in Miami. "One on one isn't exactly his strength, and we have a lot more to gain than we do to lose."

At least for Vicky, the math was simple they could have the most dangerous person in the city on their side, or they could tell him to buzz off. As long as Insight could figure out who she was, and she had a daughter, she was going to play as nice with him as he wanted her to.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Apex stands quietly at the back of the group, watching the others. She makes no attempt to be social. I used to be so good at that. A lifetime ago. The mask on her face feels unnatural - as does staying human for more than 24 hours - but she has bigger concerns.

She shakes her head at Vanguard's words. "Won't work. He's a stranger. He knows he's being hunted. He won't expose himself or make it that easy. Feels like a trap."

[3SecondCultist]

"Operational protocol would be to treat it as a trap until proven otherwise." The last man to speak leans against a wall, not far from either of the costumed women. He looks as much like a soldier as he does a cape, all navy blue combat armor that wouldn't be out of place with other boots on the ground, save for the somewhat ostentatious gold stripes and accents on the shoulders, forearms, legs, and along his spine. Both of his guns are holstered as are the combat blades on his body, but the casual way he wears them suggests they could be in hand and ready to use in a split second.

"My vote would be to send a drone, scout out the scene. There's no risk to any of us, and we can still make contact." Echo nods at both Apex and the thin one. Their suggestions are sound. He wasn't sure about this assignment when it was presented to him, but as long as he has teammates who can keep their heads in stressful situations, everything should be okay.

[n0ble]

Yuri's eye's swivelled around to Robert and he flashed a thin, if uncomfortable smile. "Yeah, I-uh, I'm ok thanks. All've this just... just takes some getting used to I suppose." He stopped abruptly, sounding just a bit too foreign for what he was comfortable with. Gotta get some kinda word in edgewise though. We're a team right?

"I can send in one of my mechs to meet with him. I've got two prepped right now and I could probably integrate some sort of com system so that we can be talking to him if we want to negotiate. Plus then if we decide to nab him we've got eyes on him and some firepower in his vicinity."Yuri clammed right up after talking, thinking that he'd probably said something stupid. Great start so far.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Robert nods approvingly at Yuri, but as he listens to the conversation between his teammates his expression became bewildered. He felt like they were all reading from a different script, and he was surprised how easily his teammates accepted the idea of cutting a deal with insight. He held his left hand up in a stalling gesture. Hold on a moment. I feel like we don't have our priorities in order. Insight is a criminal. It shouldn't be a matter of what we have to lose or gain, the only thing that matters is doing the right thing. that last statement was directed at Gravity Girl. The feeling of being in the wrong place had only grown since he had gotten here. Insight is a bad person. He's hurt people. Specifically our colleagues and their loved people. He glanced over to the director. Maam, how much worse has it gotten in the timeframe when there wasn't a Protectorate team on site in Miami? How many people have gotten hurt or killed? Whatever damage he's been done in the Protectorate's absence is on his head. He needs to answer for his crimes. Robert finished his speech, and seemed embarrassed at how strongly he had spoken up.

[PatchesTheHyena]

Hearing the speech made Patches roll his eyes, a gesture that would be unnoticed by most due to the brim of his hat. He turned again to Yuri, "I think it's pretty clear whats going on here kiddo". Extending his legs and putting his hand behind his back, Patches stretched into a much comfier position and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. You're worrying about Insight too much." he spoke, trying to make his voice as clear as possible, "We're not going to find the man there... well at least we won't be interacting with him. I'm glad that most of you aren't falling for such an obvious ruse." Patches made sure to make eye contact with Gravity Girl, then he continued " It's obviously a trap but I suspect we should be discussing the other groups of criminals instead. I'm thinking Panthers Fang or The Shining Path, hmm.. maybe even The Rock Wreckers. We know his MO right? You shouldn't need a computer on your arm to know how Insight likes to operate, how he like to cause situations of confusion or chaos. Asking us to meet at a warehouse in the docks? He's going to lure us into the territory of another criminal organization, watch us fights from afar. He learns 'The New Cape Team's' abilities, some competition gets beat up, and he starts working on how to take us down."

Patches paused to note the reactions and let his words sink in. Tilting his head up to stare at the ceiling he continued.

"Or I could be wrong. He could be there. I can't say what his plan is for certain and I don't really care either way. My suggestion is no matter what happens, try not to use the full extent of you ability, if at all. And umm.. one last thing. If we're going to talk strategy, lets do it when it's only the six of us alone. Nothing in public, not even in the PRT. Don't know when he's listening."

Patches straightened his back and returned to a more formal position on the seat. He then looked at the director with a very serious face.

"Are we allowed to drink in here?"

[Writtensanity]

"I know he's a criminal, but I don't like fighting capes, or anyone, unless I need to fight them. If he's willing to talk about a plea deal, then we can work with him, his powers don't make him inhuman," Vicky chimed to Yuri right before Patches began his speech. Once he said the first part Vicky got onto her toes and opened her mouth, then closed it as he continued. She went to speak again, but was cut off, my goodness the man could talk at least.

"Water yes, other drinks in lounges," Vicky cited protocol to Patches, "we can't have the heroes drinking in the main lobby, there are cameras in here sometimes," Vicky stretched before moving a little past the director to lean against the welcome desk. "And come on Patches, we already know that Insight isn't a monster, not everything needs to be a trap, sometimes people just want to talk, like actually want to talk," Vicky shrugged, there was a touch of the accent she'd picked up in Dallas in her voice, even as she tried to keep it back now that she was back in Miami. "If insight was a monster he wouldn't have just released the information, he would have used it. There would have been horrible things happening before we could prevent them, instead he just let it out there. Which isn't good, but it's better."

"But next time, with us, he might choose to use that information and next thing we know all of us are missing our friends and families before we know anything is up with our masks. I'd prefer we didn't antagonize him. Seeing the worst in people and assuming everyone is against you doesn't make you smarter, it makes you a cynic. Sometimes someone does something bad, and they turn around and end up working with us or something." Vicky mentally patted herself on the back for dropping the 'Bless Your Heart', people outside of Texas didn't take too kindly to it, even when it was sincere.

The new team didn't seem bad, she'd dealt with worse new-recruits, sometimes you just needed to remind them that glass houses make hard to throw stones.

[GameOfChampions]

Patches search on the warehouse didn't turn up anything unusual, it was owned by an old shipping company that went bankrupt several years ago and either ended up forgetting to sell the warehouse or just didn't care about it anymore. Either way it has been empty for years and aside from a few minor issues over the years that the police had caught, such as loitering, a few minors caught drinking underage and one rave.


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

The director sighs and glares at Patches "No you can't drink in here, it's just like Vicky said. If you want to drink in HQ it's in private areas and either way your on the clock right now so you shouldn't be drinking anyway."

"As for Insight I don't know, he has no history of violent crimes and the few believe him to be responsible for were fairly low key. He had never done anything like this hero thing in the past but no matter what he meant to happen Robert has a point. Insight indirectly caused a massive increase in crime and gang violence this month, millions in costs and civilian casualties have been triple the average though no deaths so far."

Her earpiece vibrates slightly and she holds up her hand "Just a sec." She steps away for a second to confirm something with the person on the other end. "Well good news is that everyone's gear is in the training room and ready to go, the garage also says they redid one of the armored vehicles for you guys if you need it. I need to go deal with some of this but when you lot come to a decision comm me to let me know your plan and then follow it through, don't worry about red tape on this one. I'll take care of it since time is an issue."

[Rofltrollcopter]

It's better to have everyone following the same play, then everyone trying to do their own thing. So I want say anything more about this.

[PatchesTheHyena]

There was a silence after the director spoke. To Patches relief Vanguard had spoken up and said something respectable.

"I like the way this man thinks" Patches remarked as he stood up, straightening his trench coat. "I think this tour and our introductions will suffice for now. Call me selfish but I have plans tonight so i'd like to get this trap business over with. I for one, am going to grab my gear post haste, and meet you at the vehicle. I'll drive, Yuri calls shotgun." Patches took a second to wink in Yuri's direction. "Lets sort out the plan on the way, I'll send my drone to scout once we are withing 2 KM of the warehouse. As far as the warehouse is concerned there is no important information I can pull up, as it appears to have been abandoned for quite some time. Possibly a great place for a battle between capes, possibly a great place to smuggle goods, maybe Insight chose it because the lighting was appropriate for all of us to hold hands and sing Kumbaya. I don't really care. All I know is I'm already getting sick of the scenery here at HQ, and an abandoned warehouse is sounding nicer by the minute."

After feeling that his rant sufficiently portrayed his thoughts, Patches turned and began to walk at a brisk pace towards were his gear was held.

Am I being too crude? Maybe these guys don't need to be antagonized so harshly. Patches thought to himself as he walked through the halls of the head quarter. Meh, probably better this way, friends are only valuable for cheap therapy and collateral. And normally the latter undoes any benefit the prior had.

When Patches was alone in a hall, he took another swig of his drink.

[n0ble]

"Uh- uh yeah... sure. Sure thing." Yuri was all nerves as Patches got up to leave. It wasn't because of the tinker, more so a continued, general unease about everything. Talking to him seemed like a good idea. It would certainly make mom less nervous about all of this business. Bad enough she had to worry about him even when he didn't have powers. Now though...

For the most part he stayed silent as others talked. He didn't really have any experience with these kinds of situations, so maybe he could learn something in the process. Either way he'd have to leave early relative to everyone else. Putting the costume was going to be a pain in the butt.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Apex listens dispassionately as the others talk and Patches leaves the room. While she agrees with the tinker, his tone and demeanor rub her the wrong way.

"He's going to be great with PR."

Having voiced her displeasure, she turns and walks out into the hallway and sets off in the direction of the training room. These hallways feel so confining. It'll be good to stretch my wings again.

[GameOfChampions]

Gathering the gear and getting under way to the warehouse only took a short period of time, the large reinforced van capable of carrying everyone's gear. Once the drone is deployed within the two kilometer range information it was receiving started to filter back to Patches, as far as it could tell the warehouse was devoid of human life and only had a few crates in it. However the merting time was still some time away so that wasn't to surprising, as you park the van a short distance away you still have time to plan, set up, or investigate as you wish.

Didn't really have much to do here, feel free to make you next moves and you are also welcome to skip foward until the chosen tI'm if you wish.

[Writtensanity]

"Soooooo," Vicky let the words hang like a dying marriage in the car. Nobody seemed particularly eager to DO anything at the moment. They were just sitting on their thumbs with a drone looking at nothing. If there was a trap, they hadn't found it, and if there wasn't a trap, Insight wasn't going to show himself to a drone, "should I be the one to stick out the olive branch here?"

Of the crew, Vicky had the least to lose in an initial meeting with Insight. He wasn't going to get her name from seeing her once, so her family was safe, and unlike the rest of the crew she was distinctly googleable. She'd been in the PRT for long enough that she had a PR profile and everything. The only surprise was going to be that she was in Miami, and even then that was being announced in a few days. If someone wanted to know what she could do, they just needed to Youtube her. Other people had stuff to worry about when it came to her powers, she'd pretty much already been explained.

"If we're not going to send anyone in we might as well go, no point in hanging around and WAITING for this to turn into a trap."



Send In Gravity Girl: 1
Send in ________: 0
Just leave: 0

[Rofltrollcopter]

Robert is silent while the team makes their way to the staging area. He wasn't protesting the matter any further, but it was clear that he wasn't comfortable with what they were doing. Why were they letting a criminal that caused so much harm walk away? Was it just because that he was a Thinker, and therefore he might be useful to them? Weren't all crimes supposed to be treated equally before the law? When they arrive, he detaches his right arm from his shoulder and swaps it out for the tinker-tech prosthetic. It looked inelegant, with several sharp edges and numerous cables running off of it, but it worked just as well as a real arm. He clenched it and unclenched several times, and he was still awed by the fact that it responded just as a real arm. Robert felt a slight tinge of guilt as he donned the rest of his costume. How many other guys in his situation could use a prosthetic like that? It didn't feel right that he was entitled to such special treatment.

He hefted the massive tower shield onto his left arm, his real arm. The frame was made of aluminum, and it was designed to be lightweight. The panels that made up the shield were intended to be interchangeable, so that he could swap out whether material that he thought he might need in the field. Right now, the panels were made of carbon fiber. It was one of the few useful materials that was light enough for him to carry around in the field without drawing on his power. The shield felt strange. He hadn't come up with the idea, it had been a suggestion from one of the PR guys. It would supposedly be useful in the field, and potentially allow him to cover a teammate or block a path if he needed to. The PR guy also said that shields were symbolically a defensive tool, and it would project the image that the Protectorate was supposed to convey.

He had to keep his head ducked down while they were sitting in the van.Personally I would prefer to go nowhere near him. Its not like having more people at the meeting will help. If he wanted to run, his power would let him slip away into any public space regardless of what we do.

[n0ble]

Yuri sat in the van next to Patches. He wrinkled his nose at an unfamiliar scent. Is that... alcohol on him? Not that anyone would be able to tell under his costume. It'd taken him the better part of an hour to put the thing on and now that he was in it, it was boiling. Maybe I can talk to the PR people about fixing that. His two mechs were waiting in the shadows.

The first was a humanoid shape, but with limbs that all ended in hands, at about seven feet tall. Yuri hadn't wanted to add head's originally, as it would've just been a waste of material. But the PR people had told him to make them at least a little bit relatable. The goal wasn't to frighten everyone. Besides, it gave them both a fake weak point. He'd made it out of an old impala the police force had had on auction. The second one was about the same height, but much more asymmetrical. It's right arm was more of a tentacle while it's left ended in a pair of shears or scissors. The idea behind them was that they could hopefully cut through things like a fire departments pneumatic jaws of life. Not too shabby in combat either. Note to self: request a containment foam dispenser for both of them.

As he heard Gravity Girl and Vanguard talk, Yuri sighed. "We should talk with him and then grab him if possible. My understanding was that we were only talking to him in order to nab him anyways." He thought about going in to talk with Insight for a second, flanked by either mech. It was a nice picture. Until he realized that he had absolutely no idea how to handle himself in a fight. Or that he had virtually no experience with this kind of thing. "I- I wouldn't mind going in. But you seem to have a good handle on things Gravity Girl" Actcoolactcoolactcool.

[3SecondCultist]

"He's certainly a high-value target," Echo says regarding Insight. He turns to Gravity Girl, his expression unreadable behind his military mask. "If you're willing to risk getting your identity exposed, I have no problem with you taking point on this operation." Inwardly, Wyatt wishes that the PRT dispensation had given him the authorization to pick up a sniper rifle. He could cover Gravity Girl from afar, and take out any threats if it did turn out to be a trap of some kind. Some armour piercing rounds for Brutes, maybe? Perhaps one of the biggest downsides of this cape life is that he needed to leave most of his arsenal behind. Still, it's comforting to know that he at least has his two service pistols with him - even if the stocks have been modified to take the nonlethal rubber rounds the PRT favors.

No half measures. It's a motto he's struggled to live by, and he doubts that most of the people in this car feel the same way.

[PatchesTheHyena]

Patches took a second to note the tension in the van. These weren't ideal circumstances after all, and everyone's attitude seemed to embody that. After Gravity Girl spoke Patches shuttered at the idea of her going in there by herself.

Pros and Cons he thought.

Pros:
She has powers that are strong in combat.
She has experience in combat.
She's the most exposed cape in the new team.
She's possibly the most charismatic of the crew.

Cons:
She seems a bit naive.

"Seeing the worst in people and assuming everyone is against you doesn't make you smarter, it makes you a cynic." Patches shuttered at the recent memory. Being a cynic keeps you alive. His experience in the world of organized crime had taught him that.

Patches tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and gazed out the window as he tried to think strategy. Conflict is not my strong point. In my past i'd only ever confront a man if everything weighed in my favor. If my life was guaranteed. I have nothing on Insight, or any of the capes in the city. As it stands, I have a metaphorical 2-7 offsuit in my hand. I need contingency plans, some kind of looming threat that will teach capes not to come after me. If I've learned anything from Insight, gathering information on a cape's identity is too taboo, even if I only target the villains. Maybe today's spectacle will shed some light on this topic, give me some inspiration.

He stopped tapping his fingers and seemed to focus on the situation at hand.

"Alright Gravity Gal, if you want to rush in there head first, I won't stop you. However I will escort you. I may not have combat prowess but I have lots of experience with the minds of criminals." He said sternly, as he began to issue commands into his Power Glove. "My drone will do sweeps of the perimeter in stealth mode and alert us if anything is approaching." As he finished his sentence he pressed one final button on his glove, and the drone that had been sitting atop the van since the initial investigation began to fly towards the warehouse as it shimmered out of view.

"In case this is a trap, I would suggest we stagger ourselves instead of showing up to this party all at once. I don't really care how we split up but I think it would be wise if Yuri stayed close to Echo"

[Let'sGetKraken]

Apex smiles thinly. Not that anyone can tell through her mask, mind you. "Very noble. Bad idea, though. You're not suited for combat. You can give her advice through the earpiece and watch from a drone."

Standing up from her seat, she stretches. "I'm not much use inside the factory, unless one of your drones can catch me a rat or something small. I'll go monitor things outside. I'll be back in ten minutes."

With that, she opens the door of the van and climbs out. Ducking behind it, she focuses on the hawk feather sewn into her costume and she begins to shift.

Since the transformation takes ten seconds, I'll have her actually lift off and be in the air for the next post. Apex is turning into a regular size hawk and will fly a couple of hundred feet above the area, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

[Writtensanity]

"The way I see it," Vicky started following Apex out of the car, "if he ain't on our side, he's going to figure out the identity either way. If wants to release it, at least him meeting us here gives us a chance to stop him."

Vicky double checked her earpiece before going toward the meeting place. She could hear people inside the van, everything was going to be all good. He'd reached out. There were more good people in the world than there were really evil people, it was all going to be fine.

If she kept telling herself that, she'd keep believing it.

"Insight?" she called out once she was close enough to the 'meeting point' "I got your card! I wasn't allowed to touch the muffins but I bet they were great!"

Vicky did one of the few things she was truly bad at. Vicky waited.

[GameOfChampions]

As Vicky enters the warehouse she doesn't notice anything unusual or out of the ordinary for the warehouse, there was discarded trash and both broken and intact old boxes throughout the warehouse. When Gravity Girl calls no one but her own voice answers her as it echos through the empty building.

A short while later just before the anointed time a young homeless man pushing a grocery cart full of various items enters Apex's view and shortly makes his way over to the warehouse where he checks an address on a piece of paper and enters.

"Hello? Im here to deliver a pacage to some people that are suposed to be here?"

The young man pulls out a portable DVD player and waves it around to show what he was delivering. "I also have this note that I was supposed to give whoever was here."

[Writtensanity]

"That would be me I guess," Vicky said before walking up and grabbing the DVD player and note. Insight didn't make bombs. "If you wanna stop by PRT headquarters we can put you up for a few nights if you answer questions about the guy who gave you this stuff." vicky flipped over the note and started to read it. "Otherwise just tell him we'll be in touch."

[Let'sGetKraken]

Apex had just landed, transformed back, and was about alert the others to the man's presence when she heard Gravity Girl's voice in her earpiece. She rolls her eyes. Flair for the dramatic, much?

Still, she (and the tinker, too) had been brave enough to walk into something that could easily have been a trap. That could still be a trap. Damn.

Don't have the luxury of thinking on the job. Crouching back down, she shifts back and launches into the air, looking for anything suspicious.

[GameOfChampions]

The young man stammers as he sees the hero and bobs his head nervously "Ye-yes miss. I mean uhhh ma'am, lady. I'll stop by later to give my statement then." And he speedily vacated the area, pushing his cart quickly back the way he came. He stays within Apex's line of sight for a while, before finally turning a corner and being lost from sight.

The note seems normal, lined paper with black pen and a smiley face sticker at the bottom.


Hey Guys

Ya I'm sorry but I won't be showing up in person, my desire to talk to you in person doesn't outweigh my desire to not go to prison. Since i happened to piss off, arguably, the most powerful parahuman organization in the world i thought this would be best. If I showed up you guys would feel obligated to try and catch me and either way feelings would get hurt so I thought this would work best.

First off the dvd and portable dvd player I gave you is safe, I had it checked over but do not under any circumstances make copies that can be stolen, upload it anywhere, hell try not to talk about it unless you feel secure that you aren't being listened too. This is some goverment conspiracy level **** I'm about to show you and I promise it isn't just some super graphic porn.

I know you hero types will feel the urge to tell your boss and the PRT groupies holding your leashes but don't. They'll then want to tell their bosses and it isn't too long until word gets out I made this little home movie.

Watch the dvd in a safe place you are sure isn't monitored and then preferably destroy it, or if you feel the urge to keep it lock it in a safe and then bury it under a tiger den or something.

Love and kisses
Your friendly neighborhood Insight

[Rofltrollcopter]

So what are we all thinking? Vanguard asked. Personally, I'm not inclined to take the word of a criminal at face value, especially someone who has a history of sabotaging the Protectorate. But we should at least have a look before we report anything in, right?

Unless anyone objects, Vanguard will attempt to hook up and play the dvd player in the van.

[n0ble]

Yuri didn't have much to offer in terms opinions. He wasn't the best at dealing with your average social situation, let alone something this morally grey. So instead he kept silent and watched the others, unsure of what to do or what to say.

[GameOfChampions]

Vicky looks amused at the nervous young man and watches him for a moment before he gets out of sight. Then after looking around and checking with Apex to make sure the guy isn't around she makes her way back to the van while murmuring everything from the note under her breath confused. She quickly gets back into the van with the others and passes around the note for the others to read and then places the dvd player on the ground in front of everyone. "So what should we do with this?"

After a few minutes of debate Robert gets tired of waiting and pops open the dvd player and presses the play button. After a second the head and shoulders of a guy in a white mask with flowing red designs on it pops up and starts talking.


Well I'm glad you guys decided to check out the video despite the various misgivings you may have had about it. I'm going to keep this short and sweet since I'm sure long winded explanations wouldn't really help my case.

The point is that while I had been... let's say 'keeping tabs" on one of the women on the old team, it was for my own personal reasons because we had history together. I will not however go into that because it is personal business.

Anyway the point is one day I came home to find some capes in my living room with a proposal that was pretty one sided. They wanted me to track down all the information for the entire team and hand it over to them. After some very imaginative threats on their part I started my research and a few months later I had everything they wanted. I gave them the info and destroyed all the stuff I had left because I'm not a monster and didn't want to be responsible for any leaks.

Though as you guys know that didn't exactly work out. Not twelve hours after I had given them the info they plastered it all over the web and news stations. I swear I didn't know they were going to do that, I thought they were going to blackmail them like they did me.

The point is that I didn't know and I didn't want to do it, I was forced into it. So I will give you two things, one is my apologies for how things turned out and the second is my promise that I'm hunting down these people. I don't like being taken advantage of.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Robert sat there for a moment, contemplating what he just heard.

For the sake of argument, lets assume we can take him at face value. He's just told us that the destruction of the Miami Protectorate was a planned action on a part of a group of organized capes. The implication seems to be that the wanted them out of the city for a reason. My guess would be that they wanted them out of the city so they could carry out some project without Protectorate interference. If there is some sort of orchestrated criminal conspiracy at work in Miami, we can't keep that information to ourselves.

[Writtensanity]

"To be fair, we aren't exactly putting the information in bad hands if it's with us, I mean we are a team of super heroes. Just sayin'"

Vicky played the video again and tapped her fingers on her knees. There wasn't a ton of usable information there. As much as she wanted to be on the side 'always positive' it was hard to think someone was telling the truth when they cried conspiracy.

[n0ble]

Several thoughts sifted through Yuri's head. The first was motive. Piece by piece, like one of those bad crime show procedurals he watched while indoors. Regardless of whether it was true or not, it seemed Insight wanted to clear his name, at least when it came to exposing the protectorate. Yuri cleared his throat, eyes shifting nervously behind his mask, "He wants to show that he's innocent. Hard to believe when he's being vague I suppose, but that's what it looks like from what he's saying. Not a lot to go on though... not even a description of the capes who-whats the word, allegedly?- appeared in his living room." Well that went nowhere.

Vanguards words rankled with him. He had think for a second to remember an analogous Russian word for conspiracy. Zagovor. It didn't make him feel any better understanding what the word meant. Still, the words get him thinking. A dark thought flashed through his mind, one that he didn't much like the prospect of himself. Could just go public with it, force him to co-operate with us... Doubt the people who hired him would be too happy about this video. He was momentarily shocked at the thought of his own ruthlessness. Nope. Not doing that. What would Dragon do...

"We should keep an eye on the guy who delivered it at least right? Seeing as how he did really want to come in for questioning. "

[3SecondCultist]

"I'm not buying it," Echo says from behind his mask. He's been watching the events unfold impassively, fingering the hilt of the dagger at his waist absentmindedly. All in all, he's hardly impressed by Insight's little 'video' performance. The former soldier only moves his arms to cross them in front of him in what is clearly a dismissive tone. "I say we try to track the courier back to Insight if we can, see where that leads us." A more direct suggestion than that offered by his prospective teammate.

Beneath the mask, Wyatt isn't sure how well his words will play here. He's never been good at speechcraft, and the mere months since he first put on a costume have not much aided matters. Unless a fight is about to break out, he should probably keep silent.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Before Vanguard plays the video, several of the new heroes are startled by a loud thumping noise from the top of the van. About fifteen seconds later, Apex pulls the doors open and climbs inside.

Looking around, the new superhero is confused by the discussion - a tape? Her earpiece didn't work while she was in animal form, after all. She sits quietly and watches the video, listening to the various proposals.

Shaking her head at Echo's words, Apex finally says her piece. "Agreed - not fully convinced. But I doubt we could track him. Even if it works, he's a stranger - he can easily slip away. This time with a grudge."

She pauses, collecting her thoughts; she's not used to talking this much. "Seems to me like we're better off tackling smaller problems first. Street gangs."

[Rofltrollcopter]

Vanguard nodded with Apex and Echo's sentiments. He's either solely responsible for leaking the identity of the Protectorate team, or he knows who is responsible. Either way, we still want to find him and bring him into custody. This recording doesn't change anything.

He pops the dvd out of the player and puts it his belt. Shall we turn this over to the Director and call it a day?

Are we good to move on to the next scene?

[n0ble]

Yuri half swallowed and nodded at Vanguard's words, "I'm up for it, but we should bring in the guy who gave it to us for questioning too. Don't think it'll take too long, you can find him no problem right Patches? Then we can just take him in for question, give him a good place to stay, hot meal maybe?" Really, getting him to the station was the important part, but if they could help the guy out at the same time, where was the harm?


I'm up for ending it if we don't need to RP out getting the guy who delivered the message.

[Rofltrollcopter]

So whats the plan? Unless anyone here is willing to take personal responsibility for tailing this guy, we are done here.

[Let'sGetKraken]

Normally this would be something the tinker would do, but Patches seems to be lost in thought. What the hell, gives me another chance to stretch my wings.

"I'll follow him, then. I'll meet you all back at the base."

With that, Apex exits the van and takes off into the air.

End scene now?

[GameOfChampions]

As Apex takes to the air she quickly finds the young homeless man who hadn't gotten to far. As she follows him she sees him stop every now and then to collect bottles and whatnot but nothing out of the ordinary. Eventually he makes his way downtown and settles in a street corner where he starts to beg and with your vision you can make out the individual coins and bills that he slowly collects over the day. As it starts to get dark he makes his way to a homeless shelter which he enters and seems to stay in from the glimpses you catch of him through the windows.

[n0ble]

Once they were back at the base Yuri kept his helmet on. It might've been super hot inside but at least his appearance wouldn't freak anyone out. And he wouldn't have to deal with the stares his bug eyes were tending to draw. Never should've left the apartment. He looked around at the others before a beeper went off at his hip. Ah crap. Protein bar time. And that meant taking his mask off. Yuri undid the four clamps that attached the big thing to the rest of his costume, two on the front, two on the back, before slowly shrugging his way out of the thoroughly padded inner part. With that he gingerly set the helmet down and dove in a compartment for his food.

Yuri had never gotten much exercise, and was bound to get much more beyond the odd walk after his leg got all twisted. But the research he'd done indicated that the bars he was eating would yield an acceptable muscle mass.And more protein might help his bones, if it was the right kind mind you. Plus things were bound to heat up anyways, which would further help with the muscle growth. He chewed quietly and slowly, -careful with the jawbones-, but the effect was seemingly magnified by everyone else's silence. Yuri tried to ignore it. Shame about tonight though, it would've been nice to test out the mechs. Get some real firsthand experience with things. He finished the bar in six quick chomps. I'm going to have to ask mom for more of these. Goodstuff.

He sat there for a moment, taking a sip out of a nearby cup before carefully wiping the moisture off his face. "So we're giving the tape to the director right? What do we do now?" He'd been wrong about the mechs. Before it'd seemed like he'd feel different with them around, more confident even. In truth he felt less confident than ever and severely out of his element.

[Rofltrollcopter]

Sounds like a plan to me. Lets report back to base.

[3SecondCultist]

Echo is silent on the return trip. Whether or not any good will come of Apex's surveillance, he's glad to see that his team has a good sense of how to run an operation. For several minutes, his mind is in the Kandahar desert and far away. He absentmindedly grips one of his pistol holsters, missing his other pieces. Still, he takes some time to observe the others, try to get a feel for them. He's liked Vanguard's direct sense of style, although the other cape with the helmet has struck him as strange. It's warm enough in the van - and secure enough in the base - that he should be able to take it off.

"So," he says as an introduction to the helmet-headed figure, "how long have you been in the cape business?"